Women able to use safer and more convenient form of contraception NGOs are calling for the use of female condoms in China, especially among unmarried women, to prevent unwanted pregnancy and disease. "Female condoms give women control and choice over their own sexual health. They can protect themselves when their partners do not want to use a male condom," said Zhang Yun, the program officer from PATH, at the Women Deliver conference in Malaysia on Wednesday. PATH is one of the NGOs that promote female condoms in China. Female condoms provide enhanced sensation for men compared with male condoms. They may also provide more protection for skin-to-skin transmitted diseases such as herpes and the human papilloma virus. Since 1993, about 300 million women's condoms have been distributed in 120 countries, and public-sector programs are under way in more than 90 countries, according to the World Health Organization. The availability of female condoms, particularly in developing countries, has increased from 14 million in 2005 to 50 million in 2010. However, based on data in the Reproductive Health Interchange, a reproductive health procurement and information service managed by the United Nations Population Fund, they only account for approximately 0.2 percent of global condom sales. In the past six months, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has purchased more than 10,000 female condoms, providing them to sex workers in the country. The China Contraceptive Supplies Center at the National Health and Family Planning Commission bought another 40,000, which are mainly handed out to married women. "Female condoms are the only female-initiated method of HIV/AIDS prevention that is safe and effective," said Shen He, a reproductive health professor with the commission. In many countries female condoms are not new, however they cannot be easily found in pharmacies or supermarkets in China. Zhang said some people are worried about possible inconvenience or discomfort, or just can't accept that women can also use condoms. "That's why we turned to young women first because they might accept new things more easily," she said. China's health department has promoted female condoms since the early 2000s. A research paper on the use of the condoms among sex workers released by the National Research Institute for Family Planning in 2002 indicated that their use could be greatly improved through active intervention. The rate of sex workers who reported liking female condoms increased from 60 percent pre-intervention to 93.5 percent post-intervention. And the rate of sex workers who considered that their clients could accept female condoms increased from 27 percent to 92 percent. After the intervention, 94 percent said their sexual satisfaction had increased with their familiarity with the condoms, and 97 percent said they would use them in the future. Different from the first generation of female condoms, the new ones that will be sold in China are easier to insert and they do not slip or move during use. With a 0.03 mm polyurethane film, they bring more comfort to users. The condom should be inserted hours before intercourse and does not require immediate withdrawal afterward. Chisomo Ngulube from Malawi stood in front of the booth for the new condom in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center for more than 10 minutes, asking questions about the new product. "Many women in Africa use female condoms as a temporary way of contraception. It is not new to us, but it is my first time to see such a thin and convenient one, which impressed me a lot," she said. |
非政府組織呼吁更多中國(guó)女性能嘗試女用避孕套,以此成為女性自主選擇臨時(shí)避孕手段的一個(gè)健康有效的方式。除了安全、無副作用以外,女用避孕套也是很好的預(yù)防接觸性傳染病(例如艾滋病)的有力防范手段。 在本周于馬來西亞首都吉隆坡召開的Women Deliver大會(huì)上,一個(gè)穿著女用避孕套做成的裙子的模特吸引了不少參會(huì)者。擺放這個(gè)模特的,是美國(guó)帕斯適宜衛(wèi)生科技項(xiàng)目。 該項(xiàng)目北京官員張?jiān)平榻B說:“女用避孕套在很多國(guó)家知曉率很高,但在中國(guó)還是一個(gè)新興事物。一些人還不習(xí)慣女人也能用避孕套,也有些擔(dān)心會(huì)不會(huì)不方便使用或者讓伴侶感到不舒服。所以我們目前想更多的在年輕的未婚女性中推廣它,因?yàn)槟贻p人更容易接受新事物。” 據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織數(shù)據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì),從1993年至今,全球約有3億個(gè)女用安全套在120多個(gè)多家發(fā)放。在90個(gè)國(guó)家地區(qū),政府推動(dòng)的女用安全套項(xiàng)目正在進(jìn)行。在發(fā)展中國(guó)家,女用安全套使用量已經(jīng)從2005年的1400萬提高到了2010年的5千萬。然而,女用安全套在安全套市場(chǎng)占的比重仍然不多,據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì),大約不到全球安全套市場(chǎng)的0.2%. 中國(guó)政府對(duì)女用安全套的推廣也由來已久,國(guó)家計(jì)生委曾經(jīng)在2002年做過一個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)調(diào)查,在性工作者中推廣試用女用安全套。結(jié)果證明,在專家的指導(dǎo)和推薦下,試用者們對(duì)女用安全套的接受度有了很大的提高。 據(jù)張?jiān)平榻B,從去年底到今年初,中國(guó)疾控中心和國(guó)家藥具管理中心都分別采購(gòu)了共5萬個(gè)女用安全套,在性工作者和已婚育齡婦女中推廣。國(guó)家衛(wèi)生和計(jì)劃生育委員會(huì)的生殖健康專家沈和也表示,女用安全套是目前可以由女性自主選擇的最有效的預(yù)防艾滋病的手段。 目前,全球有五種品牌的女用安全套,其中兩種在中國(guó)?,F(xiàn)在暫時(shí)無法在市場(chǎng)上買到,只能通過政府的健康衛(wèi)生部門和一些非政府機(jī)構(gòu)提供。預(yù)計(jì)上市之后,價(jià)格在12到18元之間。 目前帕斯適宜在中國(guó)推廣的女用安全套使用了人體可以吸收的膠囊,并且材質(zhì)達(dá)到了0.03毫米的厚度。使用起來比原有的女用安全套便捷,也讓使用者感到更加舒適。只要在性行為之前把安全套放入體內(nèi)即可,使用完畢也不需要馬上拿出。 相關(guān)閱讀 新西蘭女孩的中國(guó)雜技?jí)?--艾瑪學(xué)藝記 中國(guó)中東問題特使吳思科:中國(guó)將為中東和平持續(xù)努力 中國(guó)堅(jiān)決反對(duì)歐盟目前對(duì)光伏和電信雙反調(diào)查做法 ( 中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)記者 楊萬麗編譯) |