International Condom Day: 1½ grams changed the world

In 1931 US Army made condom a part of standard soldier equipment. At the same time the venereal diseases incidence among the stuff went down. Of course, these facts weren’t a coincidence. During the World War I, the number of registered cases of syphilis and gonorrhea among contingent reached the historical maximum – 400.000. Later the history has repeated when soldiers began relay on antibiotics, which were recently invented. They thought that with new medicines they don’t need to fear any sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). But an explosion of STDs that took place some time later put everything in its place.

In the 80th started an epidemic of AIDs/HIV. It has showed that there is no other option for health protection but condom.

Thus, the condom is not just a 1½ gram of rubber. This 1½ gram has changed the world. It is not surprising that 11 years ago the 13th of February became an International Condom Day. Curiously, that it is celebrated right before the Valentine’s Day, when condom sales, according to Durex, are about 25 percent higher than usual!

Unfortunately, despite the effectiveness and cheapness, condoms are not used so widely as it is necessary. According to UNFPA research article, the gap between current use and need for condoms for family planning and STI/HIV prevention is around 11 billion condoms annually.

There are different motives why males don’t use condoms. In certain countries regular buying of condoms is impossible because of people’s low income. In other cases, traditionalism or sense of shame can obstruct buying or using condoms. Also, there are a lot of men within MSM group who explains rejection to use condoms with a myth about sex feeling differences. It seems that such stereotype appeared in pre-latex era, when condoms had been produced from rough thick rubber. Even though MSM are usually relates to the risk group, they quite often ignore the importance of safe sex practices.

Experts know these problems and take advantage of the International Condom Day to talk about importance of safe sex once more. NGO’s around the world organize a lot of activities, they spread the information about condoms and condoms themselves. So, you can find an NGO, which works with STI/HIV in your city and there you for  sure will find all the answers for your questions. In addition, they quite often distribute free condoms.