Condom sales win UN support

This year, the Female Health Company (UK) celebrates the tenth anniversary of its sole product, the female condom.

A strong, soft, polyurethane sheath, the condom is available in more than 60 countries.

Pilloried by Jo Brand, the British comedian, the World Health Organisation admits, that "at first glance, the female condom may look strange or hard to use".

Described as a product with, "global c ommercial and humanitarian value," the female condom was first launched in Switzerland in 1992.

Four years later, the company established an agreement with the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids), enabling countries to buy the female condom at a global, public sector price. So far, more than 50m have been sold.

"An HIV/ Aids prevention programme is not complete if you are not providing both male and female condoms. The female condom should be actively promoted to fight HIV/ Aids," says the UN agency.

The company says its mission is to empower women, their partners and families to stay healthy, and to build on the 84 per cent growth in export sales, achieved over the past three years.

"The battle against HIV/Aids demands that we strike a critical balance between impatience and patience. Constant impatience in the face of a devastating world health crisis and long-term patience for tackling a problem of immense proportion and complexity," the company says.

International partnerships - with the World Health Organisation, UNAids, local ministries of health and non-governmental organ isations - have been crucial in establishing the female condom as a credible alternative method of contraception.

In partnership with the Society for Women and Aids in Africa, the Female Health Company has secured resources to empower and educate women in Africa, enabling them to address the causes and consequences of HIV/Aids in their own communities.

In India, the company is working with Hindustan Latex, India's main male condom manufacturer, to ensure that the female condom becomes a core component of the country's Aids programme.

Last year, the company formed a partnership with California-based Total Access Group, to distribute the female condom across 15 states.

Public-sector sales increased by more than 50 per cent.

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