Multi-purpose prevention technologies (MPTs) are the future for female-driven sexually transmitted infection (STI) and unplanned pregnancy prevention. Although dozens of products are in the MPT development pipeline, including several at the final stages of clinical trials, progress in development has been slow, and investment paltry. In my last post, I discussed the technical and scientific barriers that are slowing down MPT research. Today I will highlight the comparable societal barriers, namely: lack of government willpower, widespread poor understanding of the depth and breadth of these health issues, and funding troubles. First, though HIV and unplanned pregnancies receive substantial attention in the fields of global health and development, other STIs tend to be much more overlooked. Fewer global health organizations conduct regular surveillance of non-HIV STIs, preventing more funding from going to their prevention. For instance, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2015 Report on global sexually transmitted infection surveillance reported an estimated 357.4 million new infections worldwide (roughly 1 million per...

The term “multi-purpose prevention technologies” (MPTs) refers to any single technology that simultaneously protects users against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy. As I discussed earlier this month, MPTs have recently garnered substantial attention and devotion from researchers, as well as a major increase in financial backing from donors. MPTs hold a tremendous potential to transform the lives of women everywhere, especially those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to family planning and condoms for STI prevention can be a major challenge. Yet, despite innovative research and vast potential, the only MPTs currently on the market are still internal and external condoms. So, why haven’t more MPTs become available? At first glance, MPTs seem like a pretty simple concept—if a woman is already using a ring that emits drugs to prevent pregnancy, why not add in some prophylactic drugs that prevent HIV transmission as well? Yet, MPT research and development face a multitude of complex hurdles that need...