The formulation and implementation of a national policy on condoms in the context of HIV/AIDS--a review

The AIDS pandemic has brought into sharp focus the role of condoms in preventing the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. In the vast majority of countries, the condom prevalence rate is very low and to varying extents socio-cultural, infrastructure and logistics, quality control and incorrect usage problems have made it difficult to promote the use of condoms. It is only by developing a national policy on condoms that countries could mobilize within a short span of time all the resources to ensure that condoms are used by those who are at risk of contracting or transmitting HIV. The conditions necessary to develop such a policy and the elements of the policy are described.