There has been renewed emphasis on condoms during the ongoing 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington DC this week as a campaign promoting their use and availability has been re-launched during the event, with the distribution of 850,000 condoms.
The CONDOMIZE! campaign, complete with a rap video, t-shirts, and colourful promotional materials, aims to highlight the effectiveness of this prevention commodity, especially among young people who are most vulnerable to the epidemic.
The campaign calls on governments, donors and users to intensify access to, and demand for, quality condoms as a primary defence against HIV. It also calls for investing additional resources and materials into promoting condom use as the most efficient and available prevention technology in the global AIDS response.
The initiative is a partnership between UNFPA and The Condom Project, in collaboration with Bahamas Red Cross; DKT International, a social marketing NGO; Durex, the Female Health Company, the International AIDS Society and UNAIDS.
It was born during the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna.? During his opening speech at the conference, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe gave the campaign a considerable boost as he championed the importance of condoms.
“And let us not forget that the condom remains the cheapest and most effective weapon we have to stop the spread of HIV,” he said. “It is time for all of us to condomize!”? Bidia Deperthes, UNFPA’s Senior HIV Technical Advisor, says that “we know that sexual transmission accounts for more than 80 per cent of new HIV infections worldwide. If we decrease unprotected sex, we could reduce HIV incidence.” She adds, “If you feel at risk, there is a simple solution to make sex less risky – use condoms!”
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.