Back in March, the FDA approved a second-generation female condom for sale in the United States. Our colleagues at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) announced today that the new female condom (FC2) is now officially available in the United States (link leads to a PDF of CHANGE’s news release).

The new and improved female condom is made of nitrile instead of polyurethane. Like polyurethane, nitrile is a material that works well for people with latex sensitivities, but it is thinner and reduces the squeakiness that many people complained about with the first generation female condom. The new material is also cheaper – the market price of the FC2 will be 30% less than the original.

This is exciting progress in the world of safer sex materials and female-controlled barrier methods!

The FDA just announced its approval of the new and improved FC2, which is made of of the thinner and lighter material nitrile (which, like polyurethane, is good for people with latex sensitivities) and will be up to 30% cheaper than the original female condom.

In our work, the International Women’s Health Coalition has seen a slightly different side of reactions to the female condom. Many of our international partners distribute the female condom with a lot of success. Both men and women have been enthusiastic about the device in places like Cameroun, where our partner the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa, Cameroun Chapter (SWAAC) works.

Check out our new video, which features two IWHC staff members who frequently travel to visit our partners and get the inside scoop about what’s happening outside of the United States. Kate Bourne is the Vice President of International Policy and Regional Programs and Jen Wilen is the Assistant Program Officer for Francophone Africa.