The Female Health Company Reports:
EXPANDED ROLE FOR FEMALE CONDOM DEMANDED IN
GLOBAL WAR AGAINST AIDS
The Female Health Company introduces
turn-key prevention guide at African AIDS Conference
CHICAGO (October 4,1999)- The female condom is now positioned to play a critical role in winning the global war on AIDS, Mary Ann Leeper, Ph.D., president of the U.S.-based Female Health Company, announced at the recent International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA).
The September 12-16 conference, attended by more than 5,000 people from 60 countries, focused on issues and strategies to address the terrible AIDS pandemic that is sweeping the African continent. Featured prominently at the ICASA conference, the female condom will be aggressively promoted as part of country specific campaigns.
"Without female controlled methods there is no way to make a real difference in the AIDS epidemic," said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). "We must continue the battle to get the female condom on the agenda, and we at UNAIDS are keen to promote the female condom more aggressively," he said. "We value our partnership with FHC and are delighted by the creative entrepreneurship that FHC has maintained," commented Dr. Piot.
In developing countries where people at highest risk of contracting the disease can scarcely afford food, let alone expensive drug cocktails to treat disease, prevention is the key to thwarting the epidemic. To help encourage global use of the female condom, The Female Health Company unveiled the most recent draft of The Female Condom Programming Guide at the conference. The guide, developed in close collaboration with UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO), provides a turn-key program countries can use to introduce the female condom to their populations and emphasizes the essential role the female condom can play in slowing the AIDS epidemic.
"In many of these countries, women are at great risk of becoming HIV infected because of traditional practices that deny women the right to refuse consent for sexual intercourse," said Dr. Leeper. "We are offering women an option and we have outlined an introductory program to facilitate a quick start up for country ministers of health."
Implementing an innovative business approach – phasing the product in over a period of time and outsourcing its distribution – the Female Health Company has brought the female condom to women in more than 40 countries either as a pilot program or in full distribution. In countries where governments are providing the female condom as part of prevention programs, the adoption of use has demonstrated a definite, repeated pattern or phasing: pilot testing, high acceptance, and large purchase. In addition, on-site research shows that availability of the female condom results in more protected sex, a reduction in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, and cost- savings.
Using the Female Condom Programming Guide, The Female Health Company plans to have the condom in full distribution in10 additional countries by 2001. At the conference workshop, Namibia announced that it will introduce the female condom as part of its National Condom Day program. It will be incorporating the Programming Guide as part of its strategic direction.
The female condom, manufactured by the Female Health Company, is the only product controlled by women that helps to prevent STDs including HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancy. The Female Condom is made of polyurethane, which is strong and unlikely to rip or tear during use or cause allergic reactions. It is manufactured in a state of the art facility on London, England.
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 diseases including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Action of 1995: The statement 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 communication 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.
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