The challenges and opportunities around promoting condoms

29 September 2006

In June 2006, the Alliance co-hosted a meeting with the journal Reproductive Health Matters to bring together participants from different disciplines and geographical areas to explore the barriers to and successful methods of condom promotion.

The vast majority of people contract HIV sexually and the condom remains the only technology available to protect against the sexual transmission of HIV. In addition, condoms help prevent other sexually transmitted infections and can prevent unwanted pregnancies and the complications that arise from them.

A range of academic, civil society, multilateral organisation and government experts came together at the meeting and discussed barriers to condom use, including:

  • the condom gap: of the 8 billion condoms needed in 2000, donors provided just 950 million
  • the declining support for condoms among some international policy makers and national governments
  • social and cultural norms that make negotiating condom use difficult
  • misinformation about condoms and the lack of consistent and correct condom use.

Recommendations from the meeting include:

  • focusing condom promotion on reducing infection in those most at risk
  • adapting condoms for the local context (packaging, instructions, shapes and sizes)
  • listening to consumers in the design, implementation and monitoring of condom promotion programmes
  • promoting dual protection more (dual protection is protection from both unwanted pregnancy and STIs/HIV)
  • addressing people’s different motivations for using condoms
  • engaging youth in condom policy, programme and service delivery development
  • talking about condom use within marriage
  • ensuring the availablity of condoms for people living with HIV
  • recognising the role of advocacy groups working in partnership with health workers in educating and promoting condoms
  • addrressing the importance of comprehensive sexuality education.

The discussions and presentations are covered in more detail in a report of the meeting, which includes recommendations and related publications and resources. Presentations from the meeting elaborate on the information contained within the report and can be downloaded from this page.