UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO FEMALE CONDOMS JOINT PROGRAMME
The UAFC Joint Programme started off in 2008 with an ambitious program to make female condoms available, accessible an affordable for all.
The initiative for this program was taken as an answer to the swelling voices of local organizations, mainly in developing countries, that stated a growing need for family planning and HIV prevention. Female condoms offer dual protection: against unwanted pregnancies and STIs, including HIV/Aids. An added advantage of the female condom is that it is woman-initiated. Having more control over their own bodies and sexuality makes women less vulnerable.
It has been twenty years since the first female condom came on the market and studies have repeatedly shown high levels of acceptability of female condoms. Yet still most women cannot use them because they are not available to them.
High prices (up to 30 times the price of the male condom) and very limited or irregular access have inhibited the female condom from becoming an accepted reproductive health commodity and HIV prevention method. This is a missed opportunity and cannot be justified, since the female condom is the only female-initiated method that offers dual protection.
