- Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Family Planning
- Women, Girls, and HIV
- Maternal Health
- U.S. Foreign Policy & Funding
- Watch: Making U.S. Foreign Assistance Work for Women and Girls in Ethiopia
- Female Condoms and U.S. Foreign Policy
- Family Planning Policy Restrictions and HIV
- U.S. Global Health Initiative
- Global Gag Rule
- Helms Amendment
- Foreign Assistance Budget
- Foreign Assistance Reform
- Kemp-Kasten Amendment
- Abstinence & Fidelity
- Anti-Prostitution Pledge
- Advocacy and Foreign Assistance
- Why Women and Girls?
Female Condoms: Planning and Protection
"Choosing Prevention," a documentary on female condoms in Malawi by Martha Dodge
The female condom is currently the only available dual protection tool that prevents both HIV/STIs and unintended pregnancy, and is designed for women to initiate. It is available now. It is effective--evidence suggests that when promoted and programmed alongside male condoms, female condoms increase the total number of protected sex acts because they are sometimes used in instances that would not otherwise be protected by male condoms. It is also acceptable--qualitative studies have also shown that women view the female condom as a means for enhancing their ability to negotiate conditions for safer sex within the relationship.
Female condoms are particularly vital to the health and well-being of women living with HIV. When used consistently and correctly, they reduce a woman's risk of re-infection with differing strains of HIV, STI infection, and transmitting HIV or other STIs to their partners. It also allows them to plan their pregnancies, a critical factor considering that women living with HIV have an increased risk of maternal death.
Among donors, the U.S. government is a leader in supporting female condoms. Despite this leadership, female condoms represented just 3.2 percent of total U.S. condom shipments in 2009. While we recognize and applaud the increased attention from the U.S. government to female condom procurement and programming, more efforts are needed to make female condoms truly available, accessible, and affordable for individuals who would benefit greatly from their use.
To that end, CHANGE has developed a series of policy and program recommendations for the U.S. government based on a literature review and original research, includings that the U.S. government only fund integrated, comprehensive, and evidence-based HIV prevention programming that explicitly refers to female and male condom programming, as opposed to "condoms." For further recommendations, see CHANGE's 2011 report, Female Condoms and U.S. Foreign Assistance: An Unfinished Imperative for Women's Health.
Additional Resources:
For Lovers who Choose to Care: Launching the female condom in Zambia. PowerPoint presented by Chilufya Mwaba-Phiri, Zambia Health Education and Communications Trust, during a June 2011 Congressional briefing.
Female condoms and women living with HIV: Preventing reinfection, the infection of partners, and promoting independence. PowerPoint presented by Annah Sango, International Community of Women Living With HIV--Global, during a June 2011 Congressional briefing.
Related News
- The Promise of MPTs: An Integrated Approach to Women’s Health
May 7, 2013 - USAID Impact Blog: Non-hormonal Methods of Contraception Meet Need in DRC
April 19, 2013 - The New York Times: Judge Strikes Down Age Limits on Morning-After Pill
April 5, 2013 - The Daily Times: Female condom, a scarce commodity
April 3, 2013 - IRIN Asia: Philippines’ reproductive health law here - now what?
March 20, 2013 - Analysis: Nepal’s maternal mortality decline paradox
March 18, 2013 - Huffington Post: More Than 200 Million Women Will Need Contraception By 2015
March 11, 2013 - On International Women’s Day, Let’s Empower Young People
March 8, 2013
Related Publications
- U.S. Global HIV Policy: Combination Prevention
This paper outlines why the U.S. must support a true combination prevention strategy, one that scales up proven biomedical tools, integrates sexual and reproductive health services into HIV prevention, and addresses social barriers to HIV prevention. - Ficha técnica: ¿Qué tiene que ver la planificación familiar con el VIH? Todo.
La planificación familiar voluntaria es un componente indispensable de la prevención y el tratamiento del VIH. - What Does Family Planning Have to do With HIV? Everything.
Voluntary family planning is an indispensible component of HIV prevention and treatment. - Fact Sheet: Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2011
The Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2011 provides that the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act cannot impose eligibility restrictions on international recipients of U.S. aid that would be illegal if imposed nationally. Would constitute a legislative repeal of the Mexico City Policy, also called the Global Gag Rule. - Female Condoms and U.S. Foreign Assistance: An Unfinished Imperative for Women’s Health
Female Condoms and U.S. Foreign Assistance: An Unfinished Imperative for Women's Health, summarizes U.S. support for female condoms, identifies barriers, and offers concrete recommendations for improving U.S. efforts to increase access and availability of female condoms. - Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Ethiopia
On July 5-9, 2010, three U.S. state legislators traveled to Ethiopia to better understand the role of U.S. foreign assistance aimed at improving the quality of reproductive health care. This report documents that trip and makes recommendations for improving effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance to advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls in Ethiopia. - Trends in U.S. Support for Global Female Condom Procurement, Distribution, and Programming
Historically, the U.S. government has shown strong support for international female condom procurement and distribution. However, U.S. leadership for female condom commodities has not extended to programming. This poster was developed for the 2010 XVIII International AIDS Conference. - Fact Sheet: Female Condoms
The basics of the female condom, the most up-to-date statistics, its level of social acceptability, and the need for increased distribution of female condoms globally.
Related Links
- Advocates for Youth
- Americans for UNFPA
- Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
- Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)
- Cervical Barrier Advancement Society
- Contraceptive Research and Development Program (CONRAD)
- EngenderHealth
- Family Care International
- Family Health International
- Guttmacher Institute
- International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
- International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC)
- Ipas
- JHPIEGO
- National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)
- Population Action International (PAI)
- Population Council
- Population Institute
- Population Reference Bureau
- Prevention Now!
- Reproductive Health Matters
- Reproductive Health Outlook
- The Female Health Company
- The Global Campaign for Microbicides
Email This Page
Share This Page
