CONTENTS

          Chapters
  1. The Condom Gap: A Health Crisis
  2. Sexual Behavior and Condoms
  3. Knowledge of Condoms and AIDS
  4. How Effective Are Condoms?
  5. New Condoms for the New Millennium
  6. Improving Access
  7. Promoting Condoms
  8. Policies for Condom Use

HIGHLIGHTS

Population Reports is published by the Population Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012, USA


Volume XXVII, Number 1
April, 1999

Series H, Number 9

Closing the Gap: Program Responses

 Can the condom gap be closed? Recent studies and experts consulted by Population Reports agree that there are five major challenges to which programs must respond (30, 54, 55, 96, 104, 139, 175, 187, 197, 199, 203, 216, 220, 232, 392, 404, 451, 475, 506, 562, 565, 576):

  • Changing norms about sexual behavior and condom use. As long as cultural norms encourage sexual risk-taking and discourage condom use, people are unlikely to use condoms as much as they should (see Chapter 2, Sexual Behavior and Condoms). Health programs can help change individual behavior and increase condom use by addressing community norms and other behavioral obstacles to condom use.
  • Assuring effective use. Many people do not use condoms because they do not like or trust them. People need assurance that condoms effectively prevent pregnancy and most STIs, including HIV (see Chapter 4, How Effective Are Condoms?). Condoms should be high-quality when manufactured and when they reach consumers. New designs and new materials have been introduced to make condoms easier and more pleasant to use. In particular, the new female condoms give women more control over initiating condom use (see Chapter 5.1, The Female Condom).
  • Providing greater access to condoms. For more people to use them, condoms must become almost universally accessible at affordable prices (see Chapter 6, Improving Access). In some countries condoms are still difficult to obtain. In others distribution and sales are rising as a result of social marketing programs and other efforts to increase the number and kinds of outlets.
  • Promoting condoms. Promotion can inform people about condoms and can change people's health behavior. Promotion can do more than warn about the risks of AIDS or teach about condoms. It can engage people's interest, reach them emotionally, and persuade them that using condoms is easy, important, and socially approved (see Chapter 7, Promoting Condoms).
  • Changing restrictive policies concerning condoms. The condom gap is a global public health crisis. Despite rising awareness of HIV/AIDS, however, not all governments support programs to provide and promote condoms widely. Encouraging condom use is a good investment. Further efforts and financing are necessary (see Chapter 8, Policies to Increase Condom Use).

Previous | Next
Top of Page | Table of Contents


111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA
Phone: (410) 659.6300/Fax: (410) 659.6266/E-mail: Poprepts@jhuccp.org

Population Reports