Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTS) Initiative
| New Prevention Will Simultaneously Reduce HIV, STIs and Unplanned Pregnancy Infographic Release: MPTs for Comprehensive Reproductive Health |
| Sacramento, CA: Following the announcement of President Obama’s significant commitment of $100 million for HIV/AIDS treatment research, funding that will bring us closer to a cure, an international collaboration of health experts, researchers and funders today called for investment in new multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs). Hand in hand with improved treatment should be better prevention, say scientists leading the initiative. MPTs offer simultaneous protection from HIV, other STIs and unplanned pregnancy. They are female initiated and many are more discreet than the condom. Around the world, young women are among those at greatest risk of HIV infection. Yet only 8% of the world’s couples use condoms-a strong indication of the need for better prevention methods.The international collaboration, known as the Initiative for Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (IMPT), includes health care providers and advocates around the world and support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, NIH, USAID, World Health Organization and others.An infographic released today by the collaboration shows the importance of addressing women’s interlinked sexual and reproductive health needs:* Every minute a woman is infected with HIV. * There are 86 million unplanned pregnancies around the world annually. * One million people contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI) every day. Without treatment, some STIs increase women’s risk for infertility and cancer and increase their susceptibility to HIV infection threefold or more. The infographic also shows new multipurpose methods in development, including: new contraceptive devices (such as the vaginal ring and one-size-fits-all diaphragm) combined with anti-HIV gels and films; multipurpose vaccines; injectables; and combination drugs. “Condoms have been invaluable in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” says Dr. Bethany Young Holt, Executive Director of CAMI, a project of the Public Health Institute, and the coordinator of the international collaboration. “But it’s time to acknowledge that condoms aren’t enough to protect those at greatest risk of HIV infection-young women. That’s why researchers, health care providers, funders and women world-wide are joining the movement for MPTs and calling for investment in these life-saving technologies.” The Case for MPT’s: |
