BBC News - Saturday, 1 December, 2001
Helen Sewell
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids estimates that around eight billion condoms are produced each year.
But it says that in order to reduce HIV transmission rates significantly, up to 24 billion condoms should be made.
Over the past year five million people became newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of people with the virus to 40 million worldwide.
In some parts of Africa so many people are HIV-positive that life expectancy is less than 40 years.
Despite this, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS - UNAids - says only 3% of Africa's sexually active population uses condoms.
Many governments and social marketing agencies buy condoms in bulk and hand them out for free, but UNAids says studies across several countries show that although young people are aware of HIV, most don't know that it can be caught through having unprotected sex.
The organisation says that if more people wanted condoms, manufacturers could easily increase their output.
Opposition to condoms
UNAids says that only when demand doubles or even trebles from the current eight million condoms manufactured each year will this start to have a significant effect on HIV transmission rates.
That's unlikely to happen, though, it says, until people realise the risks of unprotected sex, and drop what it calls their tremendous opposition to condoms.
International funding for HIV awareness programmes has gone down significantly over recent years and UNAids wants to see a five-fold increase in current funding levels to educate those most at risk, and reduce the global spread of HIV.
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