Experts lament low use of female condoms

Only about one in 10 Nigerians of reproductive age have ever seen a female condom, and less than 3% of them have used it, say experts in reproductive health, raising concern about the lack of knowledge about the products.

They worry that female condoms, one of the life-saving commodities recommended by a United Nations Commission to safeguard women’s health and help them plan their families, are plagued with issues of access, affordability and availability.
Speaking on Female Condom Day in Abuja, Prof Oladipo Ladapo, president of Association for Family and Reproductive Health, partners in Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) in Nigeria, said stakeholders needed to work toward bringing the cost of female condoms and making them as accessible and affordable as male condoms.
Since the UAFC started in 2009, it has expanded to four states, but only about 3 million female condoms have been distributed in the last three years, compared with nearly 2 million male condoms a year, according to data from Society for Family Health, a UAFC member.
Only brand of female condom is still available in Nigeria, compared with more than 200 brands of male condoms, said Dr Jennifer Anyanti, director of technical services at SFH, citing the group’s latest survey.
the use of female condoms is cited for offering dual protection—preventing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases at same as preventing unplanned pregnancy—by the UN commission and backed by the UN Population Fund.
Country representative for UNFPA, Victoria Akyeampong, said its partnership with SFH would “open a world of opportunities for women and girls to make informed decisions about their reproductive health” by ensuring that female condoms are affordable, available and accessible.
“It has been brought to the front burner and Nigeria is one of the countries that have made a commitment to female condom programming,” said Victoria Archibong, programme officer for UAFC at SFH.