Zim women commended for using female condoms

Use of the female condom in Zim on the rise

ZIMBABWE has seen a decline in the rate of HIV infections due to the promotion of changes in sexual behavior like having fewer sexual partners, according to a report by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Zimbabwe.

The country has also taken a lead in the distribution and use of female condoms as part of UNFPA’s HIV/AIDS prevention programming in the country.

According to the UN body the condoms were well-received by many of the women who use them. The programme has been so successful that they are now hearing from men and women who are purchasing condoms themselves, not just receiving them from UNFPA for free, claims Daisy Nyamukaba of UNFPA.

However, Nyamukaba expressed concern that the prices of the condoms are still restrictive in a country facing economic challenges: “We can be almost assured those people are going to be using it,” Nyamukaba said, “because people are paying for it.”

Besides the cost, some people balk at using the condoms because they are less familiar than the more widely used male condoms. Religious objections to birth control are also a challenge, Nyamukaba. And though the female condom is commercially available for sale in 10 countries and popular in places like Zimbabwe, Brazil and South Africa, it is difficult to find in other parts of the world, according to Avert, an international AIDS charity.

For many women, the most significant benefit of a female condom is that it gives them an extra measure of control over birth control and STD prevention, Nyamukaba said. That’s particularly important for women in cultures where they do not traditionally hold equal power to men: It gives a woman an option when her male partner does not want to wear a condom himself. It can also lead to valuable discussions about sex and health, she said. “It can be used to open discussion between couples.”

In 2007, 25.9 million female condoms were sold worldwide, an increase from 14 million in 2005, according to Avert.org. But many of those condoms were purchased by aid agencies and not individual consumers and female condoms still account for only 0.2 percent of global condom use.

Avert is an international HIV and AIDS charity based in the UK, working to AVERT HIV and AIDS worldwide. The charity has HIV and AIDS projects in countries where there is a particularly high rate of infection, such as South Africa, or where there is a rapidly increasing rate of infection such as in India. They also disseminate information through their web site, www.avert.org, the world's most popular AIDS website.