Imagine a product that could simultaneously prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, as well as unintended pregnancy. Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs) are some of the most innovative health solutions in development, aimed at these goals. A number of MPTs are in different stages of product development, including drugs, devices and vaccines, but encouraging their progress takes a concerted effort. CAMI is engaging stakeholders to support the safe development of MPTs.
While great progress has been made improving women's sexual and reproductive health, unintended pregnancy and STDs still cause a heavy health burden. Each year, some 76 million unintended pregnancies and 340 million new cases of curable STDs occur globally. Products that prevent these outcomes can help women overcome challenges they face in meeting their health needs. But researchers and policymakers have not been sufficiently coordinated to develop and get such products into the hands of women
We will expand awareness and support for the development and eventual use of MPTs by women around the world, thus reducing the burden of unintended pregnancies and disease among millions by: 1) Collaborating with international stakeholders to organize MPT-focused meetings 2) Developing a web-based training curriculum that will be used to train and support an international team of experts 3) Understanding the perceived barriers to MPT development and acceptance among clinicians globally.
Spurring the development of technologies that women can use to prevent both unintended pregnancy and STDs can have a tremendous and life-saving impact on women's health and empowerment for years to come. They are literally life-changing. MPTs will give women another option to control their own fertility, helping to reduce not only millions of unintended pregnancies, but also some of the 20 million unsafe abortions and hundreds of thousands of maternal deaths that result.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
