Imagine if women could take one pill every day and be protected from unintended pregnancy AND HIV? 

And what if this pill was available within several years? 

We believe the fastest route to a contraceptive MPT is to combine two products that are ALREADY ON THE MARKET into a single pill.

A dual-purpose pill has the potential to play an important role in helping women protect themselves against both unintended pregnancy and HIV infection.

The Population Council is working with partners to fast-track development of dual- purpose pill

As an HIV tester and counselor during my university days and beyond, I learned very quickly that most people have more pressing issues to deal with in their lives than HIV prevention. At at Oberlin College, I often saw clients shortly after an unprotected sexual encounter. For most, condom use to protect against HIV and other STIs had to be negotiated alongside myriad influential experiences and other barriers – including insecurity around the sexual relationship, fear around the sexual encounter, school stress, mental illness, and financial hardship, just to name a few. The very fact that these clients had proactively sought out an HIV test, demonstrated to me that they were both aware of and concerned about HIV risk, but that the prevention methods available to them just did not meet their needs or circumstances.

This International Women’s Health Day, we at the IMPT remain committed to making impactful contributions in improving women’s health, rights, and lives.