Female Condom Campaign

[Guest guest]

Want to make Female Condoms Available to All?

Sign up for Prevention Now! Let us know about your work on female condoms!

Dear Friends,

The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) is soon to launch a

campaign called Prevention Now!, the ultimate goal of which is to make female

condoms affordable, accessible, and available to all women and men worldwide who

wish to use them. (For more information on female condoms,

see: <http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/FCBasicFacts.doc>

http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/FCBasicFacts.doc).

CHANGE will work with other organizations focusing on increasing U.S.

international funding for female condoms worldwide (see below) and work with

partners in other countries also seeking to expand access to female condoms.

We are writing now to let you know about the forthcoming launch of this campaign

and also to invite you to become an international supporter of the campaign. In

order to include your name at the public launch of the campaign in Toronto, we

need to hear back from you by COB, Tuesday, August 8th. Send an email to

<mailto:change@...>

change@... or reply to this email.

Are you already working to expand access to or use of female condoms? We also

want to know whether you or organizations with which you are familiar in your

country are engaged in and/or plan to launch a female condom campaign either

nationally or internationally. If so, we'd like to be able to profile

information about these campaigns on the Prevention Now! website.

For a summary of the kinds of information that we are seeking, see:

<http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/SupporterSignup.doc>

http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/SupporterSignup.doc.

About Prevention Now!

Prevention Now! seeks to ensure that women and men worldwide have access to all

currently existing proven prevention technologies right now, without delay.

Millions of people have demonstrated interest using female condoms, yet remain

without access to this essential means of avoiding HIV infection and/or

unintended pregnancy due to lack of investment by governments and donor

agencies.

There are 5 million new HIV infections worldwide each year,

the majority of which are sexually transmitted, and an estimated 80 million

unintended pregnancies. Given these challenges, and the cost in human lives, we

must ensure universal access to all available prevention methods now.

Studies now confirm that, among other things, the female condom has high rates

of acceptability among those seeking to practice safer sex; leads to higher

rates of protected sex overall by increasing use of both male and female

condoms; works for dual protection from both HIV infection and pregnancy; and

can be used for either vaginal or anal intercourse.

As such, though this method is generally known as the " female condom, " it can

and is used by men who have sex with men and others seeking to practice safer

sex.

The primary obstacle to increased access to female condoms is the high cost per

unit of this method, due in part to the more durable material out of which it is

made and in part to the lack of commitments by international donors to purchase

sufficient quantities to drive the initial price down.

We need to change this.

We believe that a strong, sustained, and coordinated advocacy effort is needed

to ensure that governments and donor agencies commit to a sustained bulk

purchase of female condoms, include female condoms in commodity purchasing

plans, and increase access to this urgently needed HIV-prevention and family

planning method..

How will Prevention Now! work? The Campaign has three components.

1. The U.S. campaign: The U.S. campaign will be led by CHANGE and a range of

partners from across the United States. Our goal is to dramatically increase

U.S. international funding to procure, distribute, and provide program support

for female condoms within and across U.S. global AIDS and family planning

programs. We will focus on educating policymakers, the media, and strategic

constituencies within the United States to push for a dramatic increase in U.S.

funding for female condom procurement and distribution. We will link with, but

not lead, U.S. domestic efforts to make female condoms affordable and accessible

to U.S. constituencies.

(Learn more about the U.S. international funding campaign at

<http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/PreventionNowOverview.doc>

www.genderhealth.org/pubs/PreventionNowOverview.doc).

2. International campaigns: Prevention Now! will link with existing female

condom campaigns in other countries, such as those in Argentina, Ghana, and

Zambia, and where possible help catalyze new campaigns at the national and

regional level worldwide. Making female condoms more affordable and accessible

will require increased support from international donors, and to reach that

goal, we need a global movement. It will also, however, require sustained

advocacy to ensure that national governments include female condoms in their

commodities purchasing plans, ensure effective logistics management, and support

the effective introduction of female condoms within and across HIV prevention

and reproductive health programs.

Let's work together: Become a founding supporter of the global Prevention Now!

campaign. Send an email to <mailto:change@...>

change@... or just hit reply and give us your info.

3. Information, collaboration, and grassroots organizing: The Prevention Now!

website will provide tools we all can use. It will include:

* Information on new or existing campaigns in various settings;

* Up-to-date information on campaign strategies, research, case

studies, and new developments in female condom production and pricing;

* A grassroots mobilizing tool; using this tool, individuals and

organizations can sign up to become supporters of campaigns in different

countries, and can then be reached for mobilization by campaign leaders in

specific settings as needed;

* Updated information on progress toward financial commitments,

increased procurement of female condoms and other related information.

Be Part of the Launch!

The Prevention Now! campaign and a new website will be formally launched on

August 3, 2006, prior to the Toronto AIDS conference. The campaign will be

profiled at the Women's March in Toronto, in numerous presentations throughout

the conference, and at a press conference to be held in Toronto in the media

centre at 15:00 on Wednesday, August 16, 2006.

Fliers for these activities will list all founding supporters throughout the

world who reply by the deadline date.

Once you sign up as a supporter, your organization's name will appear below a

statement of support indicating that your organization supports increased U.S.

funding for procurement, distribution and program support to ensure greater

access to female condoms worldwide. We will also include a link to any

female-condom related activities of your organization.

Again, to include you at the public launch in Toronto, we need your

permission, in writing or by email, no later than COB Tuesday, August 8, 2006.

Please send an email to change@... or reply to this

email, indicating your interest in joining the campaign, and include your name,

your organization's name and full contact info. There will be additional

worldwide outreach once the website is launched.

Please contact us with any questions.

Best wishes, Jodi

Jodi son, Executive Director

Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)

6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 910

Takoma Park, land 20912 USA

Phone (301) 270-1182, Fax: (301) 270-2052

jjacobson@...

<http://www.genderhealth.org/> www.genderhealth.org

<http://www.pepfarwatch.org/> www.pepfarwatch.org