Over the past four decades, the world has made substantial gains in the effort to prevent unplanned pregnancies and reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and other reproductive tract infections (RTIs). Yet, STIs and RTIs still cause a heavy health burden, especially in developing countries, and there is an equally urgent unmet need for contraception.

To date, prevention strategies have focused largely on single indications, namely, the prevention of unplanned pregnancy, prevention of STIs or prevention of RTIs. This approach does not adequately recognize the intrinsic link between unplanned pregnancy and STIs: a woman at risk of an unplanned pregnancy is often simultaneously at risk for an STI, including HIV, or other RTI. Thus, there is a critical need for multipurpose prevention technologies that will allow people to avoid more than one adverse health outcome.

Multipurpose prevention technologies were the focus of Advancing Prevention Technologies for Sexual and Reproductive Health, an international symposium held in Berkeley, CA, in March 2009. For 2 days, more than 150 participants from developing and industrialized countries discussed and debated the opportunities and challenges for advancing technologies that address multiple sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. The symposium proceedings draw from those presentations and the subsequent discussions.2 This editorial seeks to convey the key points of these discussions and engage health care professionals in the effort to fulfill the potential that these technologies might offer.

Read the full editorial on rhrealitycheck.org/blog.