Combining this indicator with indicators of sexual be­havior gives a powerful picture of the adequacy of con­dom provision. For example, if a third of all men aged 15-49 say they have had non-regular sex in the past year, and 20 percent of married couples say they have used condoms to avoid pregnancy, and yet only three condoms are available per sexually active adult per year, one can deduce that the national supply of condoms is insufficient to meet the potential demand.

Ironically, efforts at the national level to encourage con­dom use sometimes complicate the measurement of this indicator. Many countries have deregulated condom imports in the face of AIDS in order to maximize the number of condoms available. Deregulation means that a wide variety of companies, NGOs, donors and gov­ernment departments (the health ministry, the defense ministry, among others) may import condoms without necessarily reporting numbers imported to a central body. Programs distinguish between condoms distrib­uted through family planning programs and those dis­tributed to reduce sexually transmitted infections. One must take both sources into account. If possible, evalu­ators need to present data by program, because family planning programs primarily intend condoms for rela­tively low-risk acts within stable monogamous unions, whereas AIDS program condoms aim at higher risk sexual contacts.

Where condom promotion activities center around mar­keting condoms at subsidized prices to people likely engaging in risky sex (social marketing), sales of par­ticular brands of condoms can also provide a useful in­dicator of program success. Organizations responsible for the social marketing of condoms typically keep very good records of condoms distributed down to the retail level. Although these data tell only part of the story of condom availability, they provide a very low-cost source of information for the National AIDS Program and can be very useful for advocacy purposes. A rise in the num­ber of condoms manufactured or imported into a coun­try, or of condoms sold, can be useful in supporting other indicators measuring rises in self-reported condom use or falls in self-reported STIs and, eventually, in HIV prevalence.