Sharing Successes in Condom Programming

NEW YORK — Condom programming is a critical element in accelerating progress for HIV prevention. As part of comprehensive approach to sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA is working with partners to ensure that in programme countries condoms are readily available to all who need them either free or at an affordable cost.

In the margins of the high-level meeting on AIDS, UNFPA and the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations organized a breakfast discussion on successes in condom programming with a special focus on female condoms and their rising demand around the world.

In her opening remarks, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Mari Simonen highlighted the importance of partnerships and thanked Denmark’s announcement to make a new contribution of approximately 40-50 million Danish Kroner (around $8 -$9 million) to UNFPA’s Global Programme for Reproductive Health Commodity Security with focus on increasing the supply of female condoms.

Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Mr. Søren Pind, stated that Denmark “strongly believes in UNFPA’s mission to promote sexual and reproductive health of all women, men and young people” and underscored that access to female condoms is one of the key interventions to make further progress on this agenda.

During the discussion, Minister of Health of Madagascar, Mr. Rajaonarison Pascal Jacques, praised the unique, long-standing and steadfast partnership between UNFPA and Madagascar; and Deputy Minister of Health of Ghana, Mr. Robert Joseph Mettle Nonou, shared the country’s experiences in innovative social marketing strategies for condoms.

Mr. Jagdish Upadhay, Chief of UNFPA Commodity Security Branch and Ms. Bidia Deperthes, HIV advisor at UNFPA, gave expert presentations on their experiences, sharing success stories, ongoing challenges and new opportunities around condom programming, many of which are documented in a new publication.

Ms. Simonen concluded the event by encouraging all partners to build on the existing momentum and successes in condom programming. Thanking Denmark for the new contribution, she also emphasized the importance of the strong support from all partners and the opportunities to scale-up efforts.