Condoms Count - Meeting the Need in the Era of HIV-AIDS

by Nada Chaya, Kali-Ahset Amen with Michael Fox

Overall donor support for condoms has stalled over the past few years, despite 4.1 million new HIV infections occurring each year, according to the recent Condoms Count: 2006 Update by Population Action International (PAI). With this update, PAI continues its effort to address the shortfalls of reproductive health supplies in many developing countries and to assess the world's progress towards achieving the reproductive health goals adopted by the international community.

Condoms Count, first published in 2002, tracks funding levels and the quantities of condoms provided to developing countries by donors, as part of its tracking of overall donor support to reproductive health programs and policies, including HIV prevention. This information is updated every two years in the form of supplemental data updates. The following are the highlights of the results of Condoms Count: 2006 Data Update.

Donor support for male condoms has stagnated over the past few years. Donors provided 2.4 billion male condoms to over 100 developing countries in 2004, down slightly from their all-time high provision of 2.7 billion condoms in 2001. But this is up from what was provided in the last half of the nineties when average donor support was 1.2 billion male condoms per year. Two-thirds of condoms provided by donors went to sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among adults and where the need is greatest.

The five largest donors of condoms for HIV prevention over the past decade have been the United States, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Population Services International (PSI), Germany and the United Kingdom. The World Bank and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are also large donors of condoms, but their methods of accounting do not allow for tracking.

Distribution of the female condom has increased since it became available at a reduced cost to the public sector in 1996. However, the female condom has yet to make a major impact on the global market; only 12 million were distributed worldwide in 2004. Sub-Saharan Africa received more than half of these condoms (6.9 million). Greater distribution of the female condom, the only prevention method that has been developed since the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, would expand the limited range of methods available to men and women to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The provision and promotion of a range of prevention methods is vital in the fight against the spread of AIDS because countries and communities must be able to respond to their HIV/AIDS epidemics based on specific local needs. However, the need for both male and female condoms currently outstrips resources committed. To be successful in the fight against HIV/AIDS, condoms should be available to those who need them.