In surveys most men and women find mass-media coverage of condoms and other family planning methods to be acceptable (326, 415). For example, in 31 developing countries surveyed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, an average of 82% of married women of reproductive age said that family planning information was acceptable on radio and television. In seven countries where men were surveyed, approval averaged 88% (140).

Nevertheless, policy-makers, religious leaders, and mass-media managers often resist condom promotion. To overcome such resistance, supporters of condom promotion can approach leaders with facts about STIs and condoms. For example, the President of Uganda reversed his earlier opposition to condom promotion after seeing a computerized projection of the disastrous consequences of AIDS for the nation (402). In Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania, AIDS prevention efforts have enlisted the help of religious leaders (12).

Hector Gerardo Huntado, Profamilia-Colombia
In Colombia a giant condom stretching for many city blocks dramatizes the importance of condoms. The spread of HIV/AIDS has convinced a growing number of policy-makers to liberalize condom advertising and distribution. Increasingly, condoms are being viewed as a good public health investment.

In contrast, some governments continue to forbid condom advertising or strictly regulate it (90). In Indonesia, for example, condom advertising is not allowed if condoms are promoted for sexual activities such as extramarital sex or sex with commercial sex workers—illicit activities likely to spread HIV/AIDS—but is acceptable if condoms are promoted as a family planning method (312).