May 2002

The Female Condom:
Dynamics of Use in Urban Zimbabwe

Photo credit: Steve Mobley

In July 1997, Population Services International (PSI), at the request of the Zimbabwe National AIDS Coordination Programme (NACP), launched a social marketing program for the female condom in Zimbabwe. The campaign's intended audience was women in long-term relationships. To avoid stigma associated with condoms and STI prevention, PSI marketed the female condom as a family planning product or “contraceptive sheath” under the brand name care™. The product’s original marketing slogans included, “The care contraceptive sheath is for caring couples,” and “For women and men who care.”

Approximately one year after the start of the female condom social marketing campaign, the Horizons Program and PSI conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study of female condom users, male condom users, and non-users of either barrier method. At the time of the study, the female condom was being marketed in urban Zimbabwe through radio, TV, and print media, and sold through selected sales outlets, including pharmacies, large supermarkets, and convenience stores at a heavily subsidized retail price of US$0.24 for a box of two.

The goal of this research was to increase understanding of the patterns and dynamics of female condom use to inform policymakers and program planners involved in decisions about promotion and distribution of the female condom in Zimbabwe.

• Study Methods

• Key Findings

• Program and Policy Implications

• PDF format of summary (210.18 KB) 

This summary is based on a report written by Deanna Kerrigan, Johns Hopkins University; Steve Mobley, formerly Horizons/PATH; Naomi Rutenberg and Andrew Fisher, Horizons/Population Council; and Ellen Weiss, Horizons/ICRW.

The authors would like to thank Kerry Richter and Dominique Meekers, PSI; Kyle Peterson and Sanjay Chiganti, PSI/Zimbabwe; Caroline Trigg, Target Research, Inc., Zimbabwe; Patrick Osewe, USAID/Zimbabwe; Dr. O. Mugurungi, Zimbabwe NACP; Grace Osewe; and the participants of the Female Condom Data Interpretation Workshop in Zimbabwe.

About Horizons

Horizons conducts global operations research to improve prevention, care, and support program. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in partnership with the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Tulane University, Family Health International (FHI), and Johns Hopkins University.

Copyright © 2002 The Population Council

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This page updated on
19 Oct 2007