Useful Websites :

• Preventionnow.net

• The Female Health Company - Developer & Manufacturer of FC & FC2 Female Condom

• UNFPA - Female condom - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

• UNAIDS - Joint United Nations programme on HIV and AIDS

Suggested reading :

• Basic Facts on Female Condoms, August 2006 (PDF 48.90 kB)

• Recent cost analyses of the female condom show that increased access to female condoms can lead to dramatic savings in both lives and in health care costs in diverse country settings. Read the Analysis here (PDF 80.95 kB)

• Promoting Female Condom Use to Heterosexual Couples: Findings from a Randomized Clinical Trial (PDF 216.64 kB): This article shares the findings of randomized clinical trial conducted in NY and concludes that "focusing on both a woman and her main male sexual partner is efficacious in increasing female condom use and intention to use among heterosexual couples at risk for HIV and other STDs."

• Female condom: a powerful tool for protection Although the female condom has been on the market for more than ten years, the supply and adoption of this device, which protects against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, is still too low to have an impact on the AIDS epidemic. This publication, a follow up to the 2005 Global Consultation on the Female Condom, answers key questions about the female condom. It presents evidence about its effectiveness and impact, identifies challenges to wider use and suggests steps to strengthen condom programming worldwide.

• The Female Condom: A Guide for Planning and Programming. WHO and UNAIDS ( PDF 1.69 MB): In 2000, WHO and UNAIDS published The Female Condom: a Guide for Planning and Programming to help programme managers in public and private sector health image010systems and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) address operational and promotional aspects by providing guidance on how to integreate FC into existing activities, effectively promote it, and train providers to support and introduce it to potential users.

• In Zimbabwe, over 20,000 women demanded access to female condoms. In response to this need, the CARE female condom was launched through the efforts of Population Services International (PSI) and partners. Read more (PDF 7.12 kB)