What do women want in multipurpose technologies?

Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs) are a fast-growing area in women’s sexual and reproductive health. On November 12, AVAC and CAMI Health co-hosted a webinar: MPT Acceptability in Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa.

• Flash Animation
• PDF Slides
• Additional Q&A

The webinar summarzied methods and key findings from the market research study conducted by Ipsos Healthcare, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to assess the acceptability of multipurpose options among women in Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa.

The webinar discussed:

• What women in Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa shared about sexual behavior, contraceptives and HIV prevention needs—and how this information will be used to shape the MPT agenda. What the research found about the acceptability of four potential MPTs (injectables, implants, intra-vaginal film, intra-vaginal ring).
• Jeff Lucas and Moushira El-Sahn from Ipsos Healthcare summarized methods and key findings from the market research data, and Bethany Young-Holt from CAMI Health moderated the discussion.

This call was one of the latest updates in the MPT field. Here are some other resources of note:

• Two weeks ago, the journal BJOG: An international Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published a suite of articles (all open access) on the future of “multipurpose” options that would provide both contraception and protection against HIV and/or other sexually transmitted infections. It is a strong series of updates related to the science and policy of new product development and an excellent overview of the state of play of this critical area of work.
• Ipsos presented an initial stage of this work last April as part of AVAC’s Research & Reality series of webinars, several of which highlighted key issues around women and the HIV prevention agenda. The archived slides and recordings are available online.
• Multiple MPT products are in the pipeline. See AVAC’s infographic, MPT Products in the Pipeline: Selected Highlights, that summarizes which MPTs are further along in testing for both sustained-release and on-demand products.