Press Releases 1999
Press Releases 1998

June 1999 Press Releases

Female Health Announces Major Push for Wider
Availability of the Female Condom By UNAIDS Partnership

CHICAGO, June 29, 1999-- The Female Health Company (OTC Bulletin Board: FHCO - news) today announced, in conjunction with the June 22, 1999, announcement by the Joint United National Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) that UNAIDS is launching the second phase of its unique public/private collaboration with the company.

Under the second phase of this program, UNAIDS is initiating a seeding program in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia that have not yet integrated the Female Condom into their national condom programs. UNAIDS will purchase 400,000 Female Condoms to be used in the seeding program. UNAIDS is working with FHC to supply, train and support the new Female Condom programmes as part of an overall prevention strategy for AIDS-ridden countries. ``There is an urgent need for additional methods to prevent HIV infection, especially those that give women more control,'' says Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

``We hope to jump-start Female Condom distribution in countries that have not yet had access to it,'' said Bunmi Makinwa, who is responsible for condom programmes at UNAIDS. ``We are confident that once programme managers and donors have seen that the Female Condom is acceptable to many women and men, there will be no question about the return on investment in making the product widely available.''

This program is based on numerous requests received by UNAIDS from countries and organizations interested in introducing the product and results to date in countries where the Female Condom is now available.
For example, in one large study of almost 600 urban and rural women in South Africa, 84% of the women said they would use the Female Condom in the future. In fact, one overall finding of testing is that repeated usage often leads to greater acceptance of the Female Condom -- while at first there may be a negative reaction to its physical appearance and the ease of
insertion, with practice these reactions turn positive.

In addition, in research just released in Zimbabwe, it was found that 17 percent of women were ``newly protected'' with the addition of the Female Condom, meaning that they would otherwise have engaged in unprotected sex if the Female Condom had not been available.

The first phase of the FHC and UNAIDS collaboration resulted in the establishment of a reduced global public sector price and the distribution of more than 6 million Female Condoms in 16 countries.

According to the UNAIDS announcement , the expanded collaboration will include a systematic analysis of the most successful approaches to integration of the Female Condom into social marketing efforts, public sector health initiatives, sex-worker interventions, and other avenues for condom distribution.

``This innovative public/private partnership is not only making more Female Condoms available to people who want and need them, but together we are supporting innovative strategies from which key lessons learned will be disseminated to many other countries and projects. The support materials, lessons learned and documented case studies that will be produced through our collaboration will have significant implications for all HIV/AIDS prevention efforts,'' said Mary Ann Leeper, Ph.D., President of the Female Health Company.

The Female Condom and the male latex condom remain the only methods to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS among sexually active people. Research highlights that the addition of the Female Condom into prevention programs is cost saving as it reduces the number of unprotected sexual acts and the incidence of STDs.

The Female Health Company, based in Chicago, owns certain worldwide rights to the Female Condom including patents which have been issued in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, The People's Republic of China, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia. The Female Condom is the only available product controlled by
a woman that protects against sexually transmitted disease including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy.

``Safe Harbor'' Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements in this release which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements based upon the Company's current plans and strategies, and reflect the Company's current assessment of the risks and uncertainties related to its business, including such things as product demand and market acceptance; the economic and business environment and the impact of governmental regulations, both in the United States and abroad; the effects of competitive products and pricing pressures; currency risks; capacity; efficiency and supply constraints; and other risks detailed in the Company's press releases, shareholder communications and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual events affecting the Company and the impact of such events on the Company's operations may vary from those currently anticipated.

For more information about The Female Health Company toll-free via fax, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter company code ``FHCO.''