Washington DC is set to become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms for free. As a part of the project, 500,000 of them will be made available in beauty salons, convenience stores and selected high schools, in parts of the city where the HIV rates are high.

The move has acted as an official acknowledgment by the authorities of the futility to stem the District's epidemic of HIV and AIDS by relying solely on the use of male condoms, which have been distributed citywide for almost a decade.

According to the Officials, they are “turning to female condoms to give women more power to protect themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted diseases when their partners refuse to use protection”.

Shannon Hader, Director of the D. C. HIV/AIDS Administration, said, “Anywhere male condoms are available, female condoms will be available”.

“We're not saying that if you're a school in this area, you can't get female condoms. We're trying to make every effort count to build on what already exists . . . to expand options rather than limit them”, Hader said.

Funds for the project came through a $500,000 grant from the MAC AIDS Fund, which is a subsidiary of MAC Cosmetics, which also contributes to numerous city programs, including two of the city's needle exchange programs.

HIV/AIDS infection is the leading cause of death for black women nationwide.