Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS

It said that with five new infections for every two people on treatment in 2007, HIV prevention has become one of the mainstays of the AIDS response.

“As condoms are the only available proven HIV prevention technology that, protect both women and men, they should have a prominent place in HIV programmes. The first step in recognising the role of condoms in HIV prevention should be expressed by a greater support to ensure a wide distribution and availability of condoms”, the group argued in a statement yesterday.

It said that while funding for HIV has increased 32-fold over the past decade, global resources for condoms have remained unchanged.

It added that according to the UNFPA, in 2004 the donor community supplied the developing world with less than two condoms per man of reproductive age.

The Condoms Advocacy Working Group urged Sidibé, as Executive Director of UNAIDS, to:

1. Ensure male and female condoms are widely available. Work with other agencies and donors to promote both male and female condoms. Comprehensive condom programming empowers women and supports condom procurement and distribution.

2. Keep condoms on the global agenda. Ensure male and female condoms are regularly mentioned in all UNAIDS communications as an essential part of comprehensive, combination prevention. Communicate condoms as an effective prevention technology that protects both men and women.

3. Promote full funding for condoms. Ensure UNAIDS plays a leadership role in advocating donors to fund both the procurement of condoms and essential programming support to ensure supply and demand for condom use is universal. Condom programming needs to reach all most-at-risk populations, as well as those traditionally outside of key populations, such as married couples and people in long term relationships. Ensuring people have the knowledge and skills to say no to sex, to negotiate safer sex, and to enjoy sex is essential.

Those in the Condoms Advocacy Working Group are: African Microbicides Advocacy Group, South Africa; AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, USA; Centre for Development and Population Activities, USA; Center for Health and Gender Equity, USA; Durex Network, United Kingdom; Family Health International, USA; Global Campaign for Microbicides, USA; Global Public Sector Team, South Africa; Population Action International, USA; Population Services International, USA; The Condom Project, USA; Society For Women and AIDS in Africa, Ghana; United Nations Population Fund, USA; World Population Foundation, Netherlands; World YWCA, Switzerland.