Many women around the world face the risk of unintended pregnancy and HIV infection – two of the leading causes of death for women of reproductive age. However, only 21% of reproductively active women have access to modern contraceptives and many do not regularly use or have access to HIV prevention methods, called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, in areas where the disease is common, such as Africa.
To address this problem, researchers at the University of Washington and Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute are collaborating to develop a new type of product called multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs). MPTs are products that can prevent more than one sexual and reproductive health risk at the same time such as both pregnancy and HIV or other sexually transmitted infections.
