UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund

More than 500 young Africans are gathered in the Senegalese capital of Dakar to participate in the 4th Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit taking place from 13-17 January 2014. Participants are sharing ways to effectively contribute to the acceleration of the Millennium Development Goals and play an important role in shaping the post-2015 development agenda. 

The event, which runs under the theme "Youth unemployment in the post-2015 development agenda", is organized by the Pan-African Network of Youth Leaders to the United Nations in collaboration with UNFPA and UNAIDS.

Co-chaires Hon Thokozani Khupe, Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (left) and Hon Julia Duncan-Cassell, Minister of Gender and Development of Liberia at the High Level Consultation Accelerating Zero-Tolerance to Gender based violence through the HIV response. New York City on March 9, 2013. Credit: UNAIDS/M. Taamallah

How much progress has the global AIDS response made in ensuring that women and girls live their lives free from violence? What are the next steps needed to strengthen the challenge to gender-based violence and its links to HIV? These critical questions dominated a high level consultation which took place in New York on 9 March during the 57^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). 

Convened by UNAIDS and UN Women, and cosponsored by the Government of Ireland, the UN Development Programme and the UN Population Fund the consultation brought together key civil society activists, United Nations organizations and government representatives.

Co-chaired by Hon Thokozani Khupe, Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and Hon Julia Duncan-Cassell, Minister of Gender and Development of Liberia, the consultation took the priority theme of the CSW: elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls as a springboard to find ways to accelerate the attainment of Millennium Development Goals 3 (promoting gender equality) and 6 (halting HIV). Participants also discussed how to position HIV and gender-based violence on the post-2015 development agenda.

“The post-2015 agenda must be seen as finishing the last mile,” said Thokozani Khupe, Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. “We must see the things that are unfinished and try to tackle them differently,” she added.

Gender based violence is a global epidemic, and it is the most brutal manifestation of gender inequality. According to UNAIDS, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime. In some countries, up to 45% of girls under the age of 15 report their first sexual experience as forced.

“Violence is not inevitable,” said Charlotte Watts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Even if figures are shocking, we should be inspired by them to work and address them.”

Tackling violence against women and girls is key if their vulnerability to the HIV is to be reduced. Women can be forced to have unwanted and unprotected sex and they can face violence if they reveal that they are living with HIV.  Research in South Africa has shown that young women subjected to intimate partner violence are 12% more likely to become infected with HIV.  Married women in India who experience both physical and sexual violence from their partners are three times more likely to be living with HIV than women not subjected to attacks at all. Cases of coerced sterilizations and abortions undertaken on women living with HIV without their informed consent are widespread and documented in many countries.

Representatives of civil society shared community perspectives of how HIV and gender-based violence are intimately linked. Jennifer Gatsi, from the Namibia Women’s Health Coalition, stressed the negative consequences suffered by women living with HIV.

Group photo of the participants at the High Level Consultation Accelerating Zero-Tolerance to Gender based violence through the HIV response. New York City on March 9, 2013.
Credit: UNAIDS/M. Taamallah

“The birth of a child is commonly the happiest day in a woman’s life,” said Ms Gatsi. “But in certain countries, the day a child is born from a mother with HIV, is the day when she dies or she starts to face discrimination.”

The consultation discussed the fact that, despite the extent and consequences of gender- based violence and its role in fuelling the HIV epidemic, it too often goes unaddressed and unpunished. It was noted that nothing less than working for social transformation of gender relations, including economic and legal empowerment of women, can bring about the changes needed to help them to stay safe.

According to the UNAIDS Director, Rights, Gender and Community Mobilization, Mariangela Simao, making real strides against gender-based violence is a core goal for effective HIV responses, as reflected in the UNAIDS Strategy 2011-1015.

Lynn Collins, a UNFPA HIV advisor who moderated a panel at the event said, "We at UNFPA have welcomed this opportunity to bring together a range of voices, united in the call to end violence in all its heinous forms through education and other means of empowerment, legal reform and redress, and rights-based sexual and reproductive health and HIV services."

The Commission on the Status of Women, which meets annually, is one of the main global policy-making bodies committed to gender equality and the advancement of women. This year’s meeting is taking place from March 4-15.

Ahead of the High-Level Dialogue on Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, held in Gaborone Botswana from 5-6 March 2013, four heads of United Nations agencies met with the President of Botswana, Ian Khama to discuss the meeting’s implications to global health.

President Khama said that his country strongly believed in investing in health and other social sectors as a way forward to economic and social development. The President stressed that despite competing priorities, governments should place human resources at the top of their national development agenda. Without a healthy population, all other priorities become void, he added.

In attendance the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan, UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake, UNFPA Executive Director, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin and UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé.

According to the 2012 UNAIDS Global Report, service coverage in Botswana to prevent new HIV infections among children reached 94% in 2011. Furthermore, by the end of 2011, more than 175 000 people were receiving antiretroviral treatment compared to 57% in 2004—more than 95% of people eligible.

Later in the day, they met with the Vice President of Botswana, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi, Minister of Health, Rev. Dr John Seakgosing and Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Ontefetse Matambo.

Under the revised penal code young people between the age of 14 and 18 years old will be able to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.
Credit: UNAIDS

The Constitutional Tribunal of Peru is amending an article in its penal code which for many years had criminalized consensual sexual activity among young people. Sentencing was particularly severe with adolescents facing up to 30 years in prison. Article 173 of the penal code was also preventing young people from accessing essential health and reproductive services for fear of prosecution.

Under the revised penal code young people between the age of 14 and 18 years old will be able to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights providing the two parties are consenting. Non-consensual sexual relations will still constitute a crime in Peru with lengthy sentencing for people found guilty.

"The Constitutional Tribunal ruling generates a protective effect in relation to adolescents, because it provides them with greater access to sexual and reproductive health services as well as guidance and information to avoid sexually transmitted infections, including HIV," said Mima Barnechea from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In 2012, UNFPA and UNAIDS presented a formal request before the Constitutional Tribunal advocating for the declaration of unconstitutionality of Article 173.  This process was part of a wider effort particularly from the Office of Peru’s Ombudsman, Eduardo Vega Luna as well as legal demands presented before the Tribunal by more than 10 000 Peruvian citizens.

"UNAIDS welcomes the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision and congratulates the magistrates for their determination to protect adolescents’ human rights,” said UNAIDS Coordinator for Peru and Bolivia, Regina Castillo. “The Tribunal’s decision reinforces young people’s right to make decisions regarding their health and sexuality and the need to construct policies and programmes that recognize young people as active actors of change.”

According to a National Demography and Health Survey of 2011 a large percentage of Peruvians initiate sexual relations before the age of 18.  More than 12% of female adolescents (ages between 15 and 19) have been pregnant at least once.

"This decision is a milestone that sets the basis for plans and programs at national level to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce sexually transmitted infections including HIV and maternal mortality," said Carlos Tacuri Calderon, youth activist in Peru and member of INPPARES.

UNAIDS estimates that around 74 000 people are living with HIV in Peru of which approximately half became infected before the age of 20. This situation stresses the need to raise awareness on HIV and its modes of transmission among teenagers. In December 2012, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNAIDS and other partners launched the campaign “take an HIV test––it’s better to know” which aimed to reach young men with key HIV prevention messages and provided free HIV tests.

Credit: UNAIDS/D.Kwande

A mid-term review on the implementation of the Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV infections among Children by 2015 and Keeping their Mothers Alive took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 6-7 December. The two-day workshop discussed the way forward in overcoming three key bottlenecks to achieve the Global Plan targets, including early infant diagnosis, human resources for health and supply chain management.

In June 2011, UNAIDS and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) unveiled the Global Plan with two main targets for 2015: a 90% reduction in the number of children newly infected with HIV and a 50% reduction in the number of AIDS-related maternal deaths. The Global Plan focuses on 22 priority countries with the highest estimated numbers of pregnant women living with HIV.

Opening the meeting, US Deputy Global AIDS Coordinator Deborah Von Zinkernagel noted the momentum that has been gained in the 18 months since the launch of the Global Plan. “Strong political leadership, progressive policy change, and accelerated programmatic scale up at various levels are helping to significantly reduce new HIV infections among children and AIDS-related deaths among mothers,” said Ms Von Zinkernagel. “While the job is far from done, the intensified efforts of many partners under the Global Plan are advancing our progress towards the goal of achieving an AIDS-Free Generation”, she added.

Speaking about the challenges, participants highlighted that immediate confirmation of HIV infection in children is urgent to ensure timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy, as half of the children infected with the virus die before the age of two years. UNAIDS estimates that in 2010, among 65 reporting countries, only 28% of infants born to mothers living with HIV received an HIV test within the first two months of life. In 2011, 230 000 children died from HIV-related causes worldwide and only 28% of children eligible for treatment were receiving it, compared to 54% of adults.

Participants also stressed that, despite progress made in the provision of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, access to appropriate diagnostics and/or treatment for pregnant women still remained inadequately low. According to UNAIDS, the percentage of treatment-eligible pregnant women living with HIV who were receiving antiretroviral therapy for their own health in 2011 was an estimated 30%.

In countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria, less than 20% of pregnant women received HIV testing and counselling in 2010. Participants noted that, in some cases, the lack of access to these services is caused by uninformed or misguided government policies that do not prioritise the provision of this life-saving treatment.

Overall supply chain challenges, and in particular, the cost of commodities have overarching implications. Participants agreed that without an effective supply chain, the goals of the Global Plan are impossible to meet. Strategies such as pooling and integrating procurement, strengthening and harmonizing regulatory systems, systems transparency, and improving the accuracy of commodity forecasting to reduce stock wastage are critical to maximize  supply chain efficiency. The meeting also discussed the importance of predictable funding and skilled personnel to enable efficient logistics management while lowering costs.

A shortage of human resources for health, including doctors, nurses and midwives was discussed as a major bottleneck in rapidly expanding HIV prevention, treatment and support services for mothers and children. Many of the participating countries are experimenting with task-shifting and task-sharing, as well as working with community and lay health workers in order to stretch the reach of health care services. Strategies that can accelerate the recruitment, retention and retraining of health care providers were shared, such as formalizing the role of community health workers, the development of a formal professional management cadre to oversee health facilities, and accelerated pre-service training schemes.

Participants agreed that eliminating new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive is not, and should not be, just about pills. It is first and foremost about protecting the health, dignity and security of mothers living with HIV and their children. They heard reports of human rights violations of women living with HIV such as mandatory HIV testing, forced sterilizations, as well as stigma and discrimination especially in the health care setting. Networks of women living with HIV demonstrated how they have been overcoming these challenges including sensitizing communities on their rights, demanding action and accountability from governments and other stakeholders, and playing a central role within their country programs to end vertical transmission. During the workshop, participants agreed on key actions required for progress to be made against the targets of the Global Plan in these areas. Participants also discussed the global financing architecture, and how to maximize towards available resources such as Global Fund and PEPFAR, but beginning with their own domestic funding.   

Closing the meeting, the Director of the Department of Evidence, Innovation and Policy at UNAIDS Dr Bernhard Schwartlander, commended countries for their rapid momentum. “The call for elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive has been widely heard”, he said, “and countries are now making important and sustained investments for their populations. It is now time to notch up our efforts as we enter the second phase of the Global Plan, and be better accountable to our governments and the people we serve.”

The meeting was attended by government representatives from 16 of the 22 priority countries under the Global Plan, as well as representatives from PEPFAR, the UN, and several global implementing agencies.  Others present included Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK), The International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS (ICW), and the Inter-Agency Task Team on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV among Pregnant Women, Mothers and Children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with UNFPA, UNAIDS, and the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, have developed new guidelines to better protect sex workers from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

 Sex workers in many places are highly vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to multiple factors, including large numbers of sex partners, unsafe working conditions and barriers to the negotiation of consistent condom use. Moreover, sex workers often have little control over these factors because of social marginalization and criminalized work environments. Alcohol, drug use and violence in some settings may further exacerbate their vulnerability and risk.

“The risk of a sex worker becoming infected with HIV and STIs is far higher than for other people,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the WHO Department of HIV/AIDS.

The objective of the guidance document, Prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections for sex workers in low- and middle- income countries, is to provide technical recommendations on effective programmes for the prevention and treatment of HIV and other STIs among sex workers and their clients.

Preventing infection among sex workers has the potential to both improve the health of individual sex workers as well as to slow HIV and STI transmission among wider populations. Early actions in countries as diverse as Brazil, India, Kenya and Thailand have succeeded reducing STI transmission in sex work by increasing condom use, leading to improved health outcomes for sex workers and rapid control of HIV and STI epidemics.

The new WHO guidelines recommend that countries work towards decriminalization of sex work and urge countries to improve sex workers’ access health services. They also outline a set of actions to empower sex workers and emphasize that correct and consistent condom use can reduce transmission between female, male and transgender sex workers and their clients.

Evidence indicates that where sex workers are able to negotiate safer sex, HIV risk and vulnerability can be sharply reduced. The guidelines call for voluntary periodic screening and treatment of STIs for sex workers to both improve their health and control the spread of HIV and STIs.

According to WHO, the evidence-based guidelines are designed for use by national public health officials and managers of AIDS and STI programmes, nongovernmental organizations including community and civil society organizations, and health workers. These guidelines may also be of interest to international funding agencies, the scientific media, health policy-makers and advocates.

In Yangon, a young woman relaxes at a drop-in centre set up by the Targeted Outreach Programme, or TOP Myanmar, which has made remarkable progress in scaling up integrated sexual and reproductive health and HIV services for sex workers since it was launched in 2004. “If I feel frustrated, I come to this centre and rest or talk to friends or sing songs or watch movies. We can raise issues with our peers and get information on how to resolve problems” she says.

In India, the Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad or VAMP Plus, facilitates access to HIV testing and treatment services through raising awareness, education and outreach. It has also created a community care and safety net that helps sex workers living with HIV to advocate, seek and receive treatment, care and support while addressing problems related to health and well-being including nutrition and shelter.

And in Bangladesh, Durjoy Nari Sangha is empowering its 3 500 registered female sex workers to demand their rights to equality, dignity, health and safety among. “The extent and severity of violence against sex workers does not result in public outcry; rather it is normalised,” says Durjoy Nari Sangha. “Often prevailing stigma against sex workers means they are not considered worthy of support and protection.” Their anti-violence initiative is changing this. Their efforts have led to a reduction of violence against sex workers and a greater understanding among sex workers about their rights.

Sex workers have been severely affected by HIV in many parts of the world including Asia and the Pacific region. But they are also among the key populations at higher risk that have best responded to HIV prevention campaigns, undertaken advocacy strategies and engaged in peer to peer initiatives to respond to the epidemic.

TOP Myanmar, VAMP Plus and Durjoy Nari Sangha are among 11 organizations whose work has been featured in The HIV and Sex Work Collection – Innovative responses in Asia and the Pacific, a compelling collection of case studies jointly produced by UNFPA, UNAIDS and the Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW).

The case studies provide details about how HIV and sex work programmes and advocacy have been undertaken, including insights from sex workers about what is effective and why. They illustrate how these efforts have empowered sex workers to assert their human rights, take control over their work environments and improve their health and social conditions.

Pradeep Kakkattil, UNAIDS Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific and Tracey Tully spokeswoman for the Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers during the launch of the ‘HIV and Sex Work Collection’
Credit:UNAIDS

“There is a rich experience in Asia and the Pacific about what works in responding effectively to HIV in the context of sex work, yet there has been a dearth of documentation and analysis of this experience,” said Julia Cabassi, Regional Adviser, HIV & MARPs, UNFPA Asia and Pacific Regional Office. “‘The HIV and Sex Work Collection’ contributes to closing this gap.”

Pradeep Kakkattil, UNAIDS Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said the Collection was an important resource in reaffirming commitments including reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50 percent by 2015.  “From a United Nations perspective, it’s great to have such a powerful tool to share,” said Mr Kakkattil. “It provides us with a framework and community-based credibility to take to policy makers. It is a great advocacy tool, a great planning tool, a great community tool for us,” he added.

APNSW spokeswoman Tracey Tully said the collection demonstrated the effectiveness of peer to peer engagement. “New and emerging groups can get help from the network of organizations, sex workers can learn from other sex workers about everything from problem solving to proposal writing,” she said.

The 2012 State of World Population report focuses on the need for more policy and programmatic action to ensure that all people have access to family planning.
Credit: UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched its 2012 State of World Population report entitled “By Choice, Not by Chance”. The new publication places renewed focus on the need for more policy and programmatic action to ensure that all people can equally access family planning services—which is critical to individuals’ abilities to exercise their reproductive rights.

This rights-based approach, the report says, might be the premise for the global sustainable development framework that would succeed the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

By enabling individuals to choose the number and spacing of their children, family planning has allowed women, and their children, to live healthier, longer lives. However, not everyone can yet plan their sexual and reproductive life. The report highlights that a staggering 222 million women of childbearing age in developing countries still do not have access to modern contraceptives. This places them at higher risk of HIV. Women and girls of reproductive age are the hardest hit by the HIV epidemic in Zimbabwe, for example, and HIV is responsible for about one in four maternal deaths. In Malawi, lack of information, long distances to services and unfriendly providers contributed to high rates of unintended pregnancy and HIV among adolescents and young people.

Despite international commitments to remove barriers to family planning for all population groups, research finds that young people’s needs remain largely neglected. The report notes that the largest generation of young people in history is unable to fully exercise their reproductive rights and prevent unintended pregnancies, mitigate the risks of school dropout, or protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Each day, 2 500 youth, the majority of them female, become newly infected with HIV, the report states.

A number of other important population groups are neglected by family planning systems or sometimes face insurmountable barriers: young people, unmarried adults, people who are separated from their partners, older men, people with disabilities, refugees, people living with HIV and ethnic minorities. An enormous need exists to provide focused and sustainable services to these groups. The report finds that the costs of ignoring the right to family planning will exacerbate poverty, exclusion, poor health and gender inequality.

There are signs of progress, however. Viet Nam has expanded its reproductive health services, for example, to include family planning, pre- and post-natal care and HIV prevention.

Last July, at the London Summit on Family Planning, donor countries and foundations together pledged $2.6 billion to make family planning available to 120 million women in developing countries with unmet needs by 2020. Developing countries themselves also pledged to increase support.

But, according to the report, an additional $4.1 billion is necessary each year to meet the unmet need for family planning. This investment would save lives by preventing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Money is just one part of the solution, it says. The report also calls on governments and leaders to take or reinforce a rights-based approach to family planning; secure an emphasis on family planning in the global sustainable development agenda; ensure equality by focusing on specific excluded groups; and raise the funds to invest fully in family planning.

The Network of Positive Youth for Latin America and the Caribbean has launched a regional consultation for young people living with HIV. The aim of the consultation is to obtain information on the realities that young people living with HIV face in their everyday lives in order to develop new and more effective HIV strategies focused on their specific needs.

The consultation tool, developed with support from UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNFPA, consists of an online and confidential survey of roughly 40 questions that focuses on young people aged 18 to 29 years old and living with HIV from 17 Latin American and two Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. The online platform is designed to run on any computer and has a special program to facilitate access from mobile devices.

The tool will collect information related to the socio-demographic aspects of young people living with HIV, their access to health services, experiences with stigma and discrimination, and their leadership and community participation. Young people living with HIV will be able to participated in the survey until 30 November 2012 at the following website: http://consulta.jovenespositivos.org

“Usually, positive youth remain invisible to research and data collection exercises.  This consultation is an opportunity to make our voices heard,” explained Mariana Iacono, a founding member of the Network of Positive Youth. “To be able to develop HIV strategies and programs that meet our needs we must know our situation, needs and realities in our communities.”

A team of young people from the Network of Positive Youth will analyze the results of the online consultation and will design a short and long term action plans for the region. The results will also serve as advocacy tools to demand the development of national strategies that focus on the needs of young people living with HIV. “We know that sometimes it is difficult to share feelings and memories, but we believe it is from our own experiences that we can bring new ideas and solutions to address HIV in a more inclusive and cost effective way,” said Pablo Aguilera, member of the Network.

In Latin America, an estimated 68 000 adolescents (10-19 years) are living with HIV. Of these, 34 680 are women. In 2011, 34 440 new HIV infections occurred among young people between 15 to 24 years, accounting for 41% of all adult HIV infections. “A generation of young people born with HIV is growing up with its specific needs being largely neglected,” noted Mark Connolly, UNICEF Senior Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2011, an estimated 2 000 children were born with HIV in the region.

As young people living with HIV transition from childhood through adolescence to young adulthood, they face a range of specific needs, including accessing treatment, tackling stigma and discrimination, and accessing youth-friendly integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services. “Young people living with HIV are a heterogeneous group, with diverse populations that needs urgent attention in many areas, especially those who are more affected by stigma and discrimination, such as transgender, gays and drug users,” said Cesar A. Núñez, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America. 

The UNFPA Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Marcela Suazo emphasized that the epidemic on positive young people is worsened because of social exclusion, as well as gender inequality, stigma and discrimination related to HIV. “It is necessary to ensure a human rights platform that extends strongest non-discriminatory access of young people to education, counseling and adequate sexual and reproductive health," she said.

In Latin America, a new wave of youth-led community mobilization is emerging, advocating for human rights and demanding access to HIV services. The Regional Network of Positive Youth is organizing youth to participate in decision-making and consultation spaces beyond national spheres. In December 2012, the Network is organizing the first regional meeting of young people to define coordinated actions across the region, enhance leadership and mobilization towards meeting the global targets for 2015.

The CONDOMIZE! Campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of condom use in a lively and engaging way.
Credit: Scott Henderson

There is a renewed emphasis on condoms at the XIX International AIDS Conference being held in Washington, DC from 22-27 July as a campaign promoting their use and availability has been re-launched with the distribution of 850 000 condoms.

The CONDOMIZE! Campaign aims to highlight the effectiveness of condoms, male and female, for HIV prevention and calls on governments, donors and users to intensify access to, and demand for, quality condoms as a primary defence against HIV.  It advocates investing significant resources and materials into promoting condom use as the most efficient and available prevention technology in the global AIDS response. Challenging the stigma that still often surrounds condoms is also a key objective.

“Let us not forget that the condom remains the cheapest and highly effective method we have to stop the spread of HIV,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé championing the importance of condoms during his opening speech at the conference. “It is time for all of us to condomize!,” he added.

The initiative was born during the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna and is a partnership between UNFPA and The Condom Project, in close collaboration with Bahamas Red Cross; DKT International, a social marketing NGO; Durex, the Female Health Company, the International AIDS Society and UNAIDS.

In addition to mass condom distribution, rap music with short videos has been created, using key messages from senior international leaders about the importance of condom use. These messages are being shown on TV screens throughout the conference.

Franck DeRose, Executive Director of the Condom Project and Global Coordinator of the CONDOMIZE! Campaign, says “In a modern and exciting way, we are helping people understand very serious issues and the need to promote condom use. We must ensure that those who need condoms can access them when they need them and where they feel most comfortable. The awareness campaign at AIDS 2012 is one step towards making this happen.”

The campaign noted that there is a considerable shortfall in condom availability in a number of countries. For example, in 2011 in sub-Saharan Africa there were only nine condoms available per man per year and only one female condom for every 10 women. These condoms were mostly provided by donors as most low- and middle-income countries do not have a budget line for condom procurement.

According to UNFPA more support and funding are needed from governments themselves to increase the availability of male and female condoms. They should create awareness initiatives and encourage people to use condoms as an important facet of a combination HIV prevention approach which uses all proven methods of avoiding infection.

“We know that sexual transmission accounts for more than 80% of new HIV infections worldwide – if we increase protected sex, we could reduce HIV incidence,” said Bidia Deperthes, UNFPA’s Senior HIV Technical Advisor.

The social marketing of these commodities is highlighted by the involvement of DKT International whose President Philip Harvey says he wants to make condoms as “attractive and convenient to buy as Coca-Cola”. Condoms manufacturer Durex welcomes the chance to be involved in such an awareness-raising intervention.  Charles Shepherd, the company’s Head of Health Promotion comments: “We are delighted to help, not only by donating half a million condoms for the CONDOMIZE! programme at AIDS 2012, but also engaging with the educational sessions.”

Organisers say there has already been a great deal of interest shown with many conference participants urging them to roll out the campaign at country level.