'Just Use It!' AHF Celebrates International Condom Day

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) celebrates International Condom Day (ICD) on Feb. 13 with the simple message — “Just Use It!” — to put condoms, one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools in HIV and STI prevention, back in the spotlight. Worldwide commemorations across nearly 50 AHF country teams will combine fun, creativity, and education with free condom distribution, reinforcing the message that protecting sexual health should be accessible, stigma-free, and empowering for everyone.

The surge in STI rates worldwide, particularly syphilis, is not a mystery — it is what happens when global funding diminishes and condoms are not prioritized for prevention. Without an immediate course correction, HIV will soon follow. Each condom used helps safeguard decades of progress in the global HIV response and avoids far more costly setbacks. Sustaining HIV prevention and reversing rising STIs does not require new scientific innovations — it requires political will, sustained investment, and a renewed commitment to ensure condoms are free or affordable and widely available to those who need them most.

“Condoms still work! We have the proven formula to stop HIV/AIDS after 40 years: Get tested. Get treated. Use Condoms — it's as basic as that. We can't stop HIV/ AIDS without condoms. The continued spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is not a failure of science—it’s a failure of leadership and commitment to prevention,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy & Policy.

"Condoms are effective, affordable, and proven, but too often they are sidelined by stigma, underinvestment, and policy choices that limit access. Condoms must be treated as an essential public health good, backed by sustained funding, education, and promotion. It does not make any sense not to champion the free distribution of condoms. They are cost-effective. They work. Let's all make it happen to save lives!" added Ford.

Launched by AIDS Healthcare Foundation in 2009, International Condom Day (Feb. 13) celebrates condoms as the world’s best option for preventing HIV, other STIs, and unplanned pregnancies. ICD reminds us that condoms are safer, sexy, and must be kept at the center of protecting sexual health worldwide: “Just Use It!”

Visit LOVEcondoms.org to learn more and check out AHF’s recent Global Public Health Revolution podcast episode “Safer Is Sexy: Condoms & Creative Health Campaigns” for a conversation all about condoms — their role in saving lives, breaking taboos, and shaping public health campaigns worldwide.

Since 2022, AHF has also toured a free burlesque show bringing safer sex messaging as part of its celebration of International Condom Day to enthusiastic, sold-out audiences across the United States. This year’s encore burlesque spectacle, “Ohh Mamma!” plays off the international ABBA-inspired film juggernaut, “Mamma Mia!” Throughout February, AHF will bring “Ohh Mamma!” with its bold performances, jaw-dropping costumes, and show-stopping routines to appreciative audiences in New York City (Feb. 7), Washington, D.C. (Feb 13 & 14), Chicago, Illinois (Feb. 20 & 21), and Columbus, Ohio (Feb. 28). Tickets are free, and seating is first come, first served. Ticket and information are available online at AHFEvents.org

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 2.8 million individuals across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.