In the early 1990’s, I met a young woman named Gelete. I was working as part of an HIV prevention team along the Sudanese border of Ethiopia, and Gelete was one of our team’s most committed local volunteers working to implement our condom distribution program. Growing up, she dreamed of becoming a physician and attending medical school—but, at age 16, she was raped by her teacher, became pregnant and was then ostracized and abandoned by her own family. With no support and a baby to feed, she moved to a small town to work on a coffee plantation. Since coffee bean harvesting is seasonal work with few other opportunities available in the off season, Gelete joined other young women in similar situations exchanging money for sex to survive.

Yes! Yes! We soon may have a ring for our vaginas! I know what you are thinking; vaginal rings have been here since sliced bread. True, but what’s new about this one is that it will provide protection from HIV. Future rings will also include protection from unintended pregnancies and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), too. And when that ring is available, I am putting it in! Because I like my vagina, and I want to stay healthy.

Leveraging its experience developing the first vaginal ring and long-acting product shown to help prevent HIV, the nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides is now developing a three-month vaginal ring designed to reduce women’s HIV risk and prevent unplanned pregnancy. This innovative multipurpose prevention technology would offer women a discreet option to protect their sexual and reproductive health on their own terms.

The Road

6 years; 12 Million Dollars.

When the founders of the Female Health Company (FHC) began conceptualizing the female condom in 1996, they wanted to create a product that would impact society as well as benefit investors. Little did they know that it would be a long road to develop a market for the female condom.

Since 2009, when MPTs officially became a “thing,” we have had a lot of conversations about MPTs and answered even more questions. We have spoken with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, seatmates on plane flights – you name it. Until recently, not many people had heard of MPTs, and we spent a large part of these conversations doing quite a bit of explaining.

Most people we talk to seem universally on board with the concept of MPTs, thinking that it “just makes sense” as a prevention approach. However, because there aren’t many ready-to-use MPTs on the market (condoms being the sole exception) they are also hesitant to get “too excited” about future products still in development. For many, MPTs sound great – but intangible, disconnected from reality.