The India Post, 5th August, 2008 :Leading female condom initiatives join together to call for expanded access to female condoms to stem the spread of HIV.
The female condom is a proven HIV and pregnancy prevention method, with acceptability as high as 96% among women and men of diverse backgrounds. But in 2007, fewer than 26 million female condoms were distributed worldwide – just one for every 100 women in Asia, Latin America and Africa between the ages of 15 and 49.
With rates of HIV/AIDS infection among women climbing to more than 60% in some regions, it is more important than ever that governments and international donor agencies invest in female condoms as an HIV/AIDS prevention method. This press conference will highlight three leading advocacy campaigns and civil society efforts to increase access to female condoms: the Center for Health and Gender Equity’s Prevention Now! Campaign, United Nations Population Fund’s Female Condom Initiative and the Universal Access to Female Condom Joint Program, a partnership of Dutch NGOs and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS).
PRESS CONFERENCE
When: Tuesday, August 5, 10:00-11:00 AM
Where: Room 3 (Olmecas), Media Centre, Hall A, Level 1, Centro Banamex, Mexico City
Who: Bidia Deperthes, HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor for Comprehensive Condom Programming, United Nations Population Fund
Bernice Heloo, President, Society for Women and AIDS in Africa, Ghana
Serra Sippel, Executive Director, Center for Health and Gender Equity, USA
Lucie van Mens, Universal Access to Female Condoms Joint Programme, Netherlands
For more information about female condom sessions and activities at the XVII International AIDS Conference, click here for a schedule of female condom events. You can also visit the Prevention Now! Campaign table in the Women’s Networking Zone in the Global Village.
Prevention Now! is a global campaign to ensure that governments and donor agencies provide funding to dramatically increase access to female condoms and other existing prevention options for women and men, to prevent the spread of HIV, reduce unintended pregnancy, and advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people worldwide.
Contact in Mexico: Serra Sippel, +1 (301) 768-7162
Mary Beth Hastings, +1 (301) 270-1182
Center for Health and Gender Equity 6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 910 • Takoma Park, MD 20912 • 1.301.270.1182
change@genderhealth.org • www.preventionnow.net