the Global Fund to fight AIDS,

Resources to meet the demand
Resources to meet demand for condoms come from domestic government sources
and out-of-pocket expenditures; multilateral agencies, including the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank Multi-Country AIDS Programme
(MAP); the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria; the private sector (foundations,
employers, international nongovernmental organisations) and bilateral donors. Donors
provided 3.574 billion condoms in 2002, at a cost of US$ 94.9 million. Condom funding
peaked in 1996 when international funding of condoms was at US$ 68 million, but it
subsequently declined to US$ 40 million annually in 1999 and 2000.Part of this decline may be attributed to policy changes in the United
States, which substantially cut donations from 800 million condoms in
1992 to 300 million a year in 2000. While many developing countries
now provide and promote condoms as part of their HIV prevention
strategies, many of the poorest countries still depend on assistance
provided through bilateral and multilateral funding. Such cutbacks are
sorely felt in the places where condoms are most needed।
Getting condoms to those who need them most
The rise in the need for condoms is fuelled by increasing HIV
prevalence in many developing countries, by large numbers of people
beginning sexual activity, and by a growing interest in contraceptive
use. However, sexually active young people (especially young women)
are regularly and repeatedly denied information about, and access to,
condoms. This means that misconceptions (such as the belief that
condoms do not protect against HIV infection) are not corrected.
If condoms are to be used at all, and especially if they are to be used
consistently, then it is clearly important that people have access to them
and that they be able to afford them. A reliable supply and distribution
system for those who need condoms is essential. Numerous surveys
cite non-availability of condoms at the time of sexual interactions as a
main reason for non-use 44.
Experience has shown that, when condoms are available and affordable,
people use them. Decreasing condom prices in Brazil in the early 1990s
resulted in a massive increase in the numbers of condoms purchased.
The increase in condom accessibility and availability promoted by
the Ford Foundation in South Africa (through mass distribution and
vending machines in workplace toilets) increased uptake 25-fold 45.
The gender aspects of condom use are undoubtedly the most difficult
hurdles to overcome. Until men and women share equal decisionmaking
power in their interpersonal relationships, the female
condom will provide women with greater opportunities for protecting
themselves from HIV and STIs than the male condom. Research studies
in South Africa, Thailand, the United States and Zambia indicate that
a greater number of sexual acts are protected when female condoms are available as a supplement to male condoms, although more investigation is needed
to confirm these findings