It is a method which women can choose and initiate more easily than the male condom. Such reasons, in fact, have played a large part in swaying more women toward using the female condom since its introduction in 1992 by the Chicago-based Female Health Company. Currently, the female condom is available in over 60 developing countries, says Mitchell Warren, director of International Affairs at the Female Health Company. Last year, for instance, some 45 countries distributed over 4.5 million female condoms, pushing the total number sold over the last eight years to over 35 million. In Ghana, for instance, the program began in 1999 with 75,000 female condoms, and increased to 420,000 in 2000 and to one million this year.
Condoms are an indispensable part of prevention.
The U.N. body is emphasizing female condom use because women bear the burden of STD infections. On the entire African continent, for instance, there are 12-13 women infected with the deadly disease for every 10 men. They are biological, economic and social and cultural issues. Coerced sex increases risk of microlesions. Furthermore, declares the WHO, there are more viruses in sperm than in vaginal secretions.