1999

The Female Condom in Zimbabwe:
The Interplay of Research, Advocacy, and Government Action

Introduction

The female condom is sold as the care contraceptive sheath in Zimbabwe. Photo credit: Steve Mobley

During the past decade, a significant increase in reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe prompted the government, local organizations, and international donors to intensify prevention efforts. As part of this response, in November 1996 Zimbabwe’s National AIDS Coordinating Programme (NACP) invited Population Services International (PSI) to launch a social marketing program to promote the female condom, making this protective device widely available for the first time in Africa.

But the campaign for the female condom actually began several years before the government’s bold initiative. Awareness of the female condom and its value in preventing HIV transmission had grown among Zimbabweans since the early 1990s, due largely to the efforts of women’s organizations to ensure its availability at an affordable price. After an acceptability study showed that Zimbabwean women and men liked using the female condom, leaders of these organizations encouraged public discussion and media attention, which helped pave the way to approval and introduction of the device.

This Research Summary presents the findings of a case study conducted by Grace Osewe and sponsored by the Population Council’s HIV/AIDS operations research Horizons Project. The study reviewed the social and political factors that led to government approval and commercial introduction of the female condom in Zimbabwe. Using a literature review and interviews with representatives of women’s organizations and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government, and donors, the case study examined not only the government’s pathbreaking decision to approve and promote the device but also the critically important research and advocacy efforts that led to widescale public support for it.

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This page updated on
19 Oct 2007