We join the world in celebrating International Women’s Day by calling out all MPT champions who work to provide women everywhere with more product choices designed to simultaneously prevent HIV, STIs, and/or pregnancy so women can manage their reproductive health and futures. We choose to challenge barriers to safe, effective, and affordable reproductive health access and care so that women can be empowered to live their lives freely—regardless of their stage of life, lifestyle, or socioeconomic standing.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the IMPT Advisory Council – a group tasked with providing strategic guidance for the IMPT network, with a particular emphasis on sustainability and new stakeholder engagement.

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.

Incorporating what women want into new sexual and reproductive health products is essential

We at PATH make it our business to reflect on the elusive topic of ‘what women want’—in terms of protection options in their sexual and reproductive lives. Not surprisingly, the answer is complex. Women want and need different things at different stages of their lifecycle, depending on the circumstances of their lives.

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.