AEGiS-13IAC: Expanding access to and use of the female condom & an analysis of international planning and programming.

13th International AIDS Conference


Durban, South Africa - July 9-July 14, 2000

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Expanding access to and use of the female condom & an analysis of international planning and programming.

Int Conf AIDS 2000 Jul 9-14; 13:(abstract no. MoOrC134)

Warren M;;; M. Warren, Female Health Foundation, One Sovereign Park, Coronation Road, London NW10 7QP, United Kingdom, Tel.: +44 171 690 72 42, Fax: +44 171 503 64 38, E-mail: mitchellwarren@compuserve.com

ISSUES: Since 1996, through an agreement between The Female Health Company (FHC) and UNAIDS, The Female Condom has been made available in over 35 developing countries. Demand continues to increase, and various lessons have been learned from existing activities. Numerous operational issues need to be considered and included in an introductory programme of a new prevention method.

DESCRIPTION: Based on these experiences, UNAIDS, WHO and FHC developed "The Female Condom: A Guide for Planning and Programming". UNAIDS and FHC also collaborated in launching a project to expand access to the female condom by jump-starting programmes in a dozen countries. Through this extensive collaboration and field-testing, key operational, programming and research lessons were learned and provide a framework for broader introduction.

CONCLUSIONS: Key lessons learned to date can help expand further introduction of the female condom and other new prevention technologies: - Fostering a public/private partnership for product development, distribution and promotion. - Assessing demand and differentiating between "novelty demand" and actual demand and use over time. - Analysing cost-effectiveness of an overall intervention, including commodity costs. - Prioritising target audiences. - Involving men in the introduction of the strategy. - A comprehensive introductory programme, including integration into existing programmes, outreach, training, promotion, education and distribution, should be developed at the same time as plans for the procurement of the commodity is initiated.

Keywords: AEGIS, Condoms, Female, Research, Sex Education, Developing Countries, Pilot Projects, Teaching, Cooperative Behavior, Health Education, Human, Male, Female, utilizationKWDaegis,condoms,female,research,sexeducation,developingcountries,pilotprojects,teaching,cooperativebehavior,healtheducation,human,male,female,utilization
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MoOrC134

Copyright © 2000 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.