MeetingsNovember 11, 2011
‘PREVENTION, PLEASURE AND PROTECTION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FEMALE CONDOMS
– 17-18 NOVEMBER 2011, Museum for Communication THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
As a wife, mother, schoolteacher and health worker, Mercy Ngala Mokake in Cameroon feels the female condom is a precious tool for all. “I think this campaign should spread across the country. It will help many women as a contraceptive and prevent the spread of HIV/Aids. The message and not the virus should spread far and wide, even to schools, from primary to university level”.
Conference
The conference ‘PREVENTION, PLEASURE AND PROTECTION’ brings together some 125 experts in the field of female condom programming to discuss the state of the art in female condoms. Next to presentations by leading scientists and specialists on female condoms, a range of working groups will offer the possibility of direct exchange and discussion on various topics. These include presentations on nanotechnology, latest in regulatory developments, the use of social media, localization of gatekeepers, and the sustainability of the global advocacy movement.
Participants come from government agencies, donors, academia, and others, and female condom programs in Mozambique, Cameroon and Nigeria. Attached you find the program and the overview of workshops and sessions.
Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) Joint Programme
During the last three years UAFC played a major role in setting the international agenda for female condoms, in working on advocacy and development, and in supporting large scale country programs in Cameroon and Nigeria and Mozambique. UAFC has supported different manufacturers in pre qualifying their female condoms for the global market. In the coming years the focus will be on the transfer of the knowledge and experience acquired to organizations in the South as well as continuation of the country programs and the regulatory and manufacturing support. Ultimate aim is to create a sustainable and viable market and global acceptance of female condoms as a reliable method of family planning and prevention, so that the need for a special actor as UAFC ceased to exist.
Background
Worldwide, 215 million women have an unmet need for contraception. At the same time more and more women are being infected with HIV/Aids. In Sub-Saharan Africa more young women than men are HIV-positive, as 8 to 1.
The female condom (FC) is the only available female initiated method that provides protection against STI’s, including HIV, and protects against mistimed or unwanted pregnancies. The female condom puts women in charge and is therefore women empowering. The demand for female condoms is substantial and rapidly increasing.
The conference is organized by UAFC Joint Programme in co-operation with PSI Zimbabwe and Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
Partners in UAFC Joint Programme: I+ Solutions, Oxfam Novib, Rutgers WPF and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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For more information you can contact:
Annet Neijmeijer, communications adviser UAFC Joint Programme +31 (0)6-23192812
I will gladly schedule an interview for you with one of the participants or UAFC staff.
www.condoms4all.org