AHF Launches Virtual Free Condom Store in India

In India by AHF

Condoms are much easier to get in India now thanks to the free online condom store recently launched by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) India Cares.

India is home to the world’s third largest population of HIV positive people (over 2.1 million). Even though the HIV prevalence rate is dropping, the demand for condoms remains high, but the government has missed condom distribution quotas for the past two years.

“The funding for condoms is critical and continues to be cut around the world,” AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy Terri Ford said. “We were getting desperate requests and realized India needed its own condom store.”

AHF stepped in to fill an urgent gap and launched its newest condom distribution program, which aims to deliver AHF-branded LOVE condoms free of charge to public and private healthcare organizations – all they need to do is ask.

AHF India Cares Country Program Director Dr. V. Sam Prasad said their groundbreaking idea was met with unprecedented interest. AHF received hundreds of calls and emails within the first 24 hours. To date, the store has been highlighted in 110 news stories across the country—a new high for AHF India Cares.

The condom store distributed 60,000 condoms in the first 5 days. AHF plans to meet the increased need in India by committing 5 million condoms for 2017, an almost 500 percent increase from the previous year.

According to Dr. Prasad, the at-risk groups likely to benefit most from increased condom distribution are sex workers, the MSM (men who have sex with men) community and truck drivers.

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