General population

General population
Promoting widespread condom use in the general population is a greater challenge than
promoting it in specific populations, such as sex workers and their clients. Furthermore,
it is not easy to measure the success of condom promotion efforts directed at the general
population. Statistics on the number of condoms distributed give some idea of the scope
of the effort but do not indicate what proportion of the population, particularly those at
highest risk, is consistently using condoms. Most surveys do not identify key populations
at highest risk and do not ask about high-risk settings where condom use could make
a difference to transmission. For instance, in epidemics concentrated among specific
segments of the population (e.g. MSM and sex workers), high condom use would make
a substantial difference, regardless of the rate of condom use in the general population.
Numerous studies show high rates of condom use in the general population of various
developing countries. Data collected by the Brazilian Ministry of Health showed that 63%
of men and 69% of women reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter
with a casual partner 18. In a 1999 study in Zimbabwe, over 70% of men reported using a
condom the last time they had high-risk sex 19. However optimistic the trends in condom
use are, the rise in condom use generally applies only to a tiny fraction of all sexual
encounters in these countries. Condom use is much lower in rural areas, and condom
promotion has had little impact in the context of steady sexual relationships. Across
all regions of the world, the poor results of promotion efforts to encourage consistent
condom use within regular partnerships highlight this as one of the major challenges in
condom promotion20.