To Mark World AIDS Day, the British Government Pledges 5 Million Pounds for the
Purchase of Female Condoms
CHICAGO, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Female Health Company (FHCO)
today announced that on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011, the British Government
pledged five million pounds (approximately $7.8 M) for the purchase of female
condoms to enhance reproductive health needs of women. The fund, which will be
channeled through the Department of International Development to the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is additional to the 35 million pounds generally
provided for contraceptive supplies to save the lives of thousands of women who
urgently need contraception supplies.
The British International Development Minister Stephen O'Brian made the
announcement at a plenary session on "Family Planning and HIV: Strange Bedfellows
No More" at the on-going second international conference on Family Planning in
Dakar. Mr. O'Brian said AIDS is a major cause of maternal deaths in high
prevalence countries and there is the need to put in measures to address and halt
the spread of the virus. The British Minister said there is the urgent need for a
comprehensive approach that will ensure the integration of quality sexual
reproductive health, including prevention of the HIV/AIDS virus, and family
planning needs. He explained that millions of unintended pregnancies occur every
year because 215 million women who want desperately to delay or avoid their
pregnancies are not able to do so. He said the provision of the fund will ensure
that two million unintended pregnancies are prevented.
O.B. Parrish, Chairman and C.E.O. of The Female Health Company, noted that "the
Company lauds the British Government for its concern and support of women's
reproductive health concerns world-wide".
About The Female Health Company
The Female Health Company, based in Chicago, Illinois, manufactures and markets
the FC2 Female Condom? (FC2), which is available in the U.S. and in about 120
other countries globally. The Company owns certain worldwide rights to the FC2
Female Condom?, including patents that have been issued in the U.S., the European
Union, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Japan, The People's Republic of China,
Spain, Mexico, Greece, Turkey and the African Regional Intellectual Property
Organization (ARIPO), which includes Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda,
United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. FC2 patent applications are
pending in various countries. The FC2 Female Condom? is the only available
FDA-approved product controlled by a woman that offers dual protection against
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy. The
World Health Organization (WHO) has cleared FC2 for purchase by U.N. agencies. |
