The division is led by vice president and director Anrudh K. Jain. The senior leadership also includes four program directors—Judith Bruce (Gender, Family, and Development), Naomi Rutenberg (Horizons), John Townsend (Frontiers in Reproductive Health), and C. Johannes van Dam (Reproductive Health)—as well as four regional directors—Ayorinde Ajayi (Sub-Saharan Africa), Ragui Assaad (Middle East), Juan Díaz (acting regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean), and Saroj Pachauri (Asia).

The division's recent major accomplishments include: 

Expansion of the sexually transmitted infection/reproductive tract infection (STI/RTI) research portfolio
STIs and their associated symptoms are widely perceived as the cause of a significant amount of reproductive health morbidity in women. Untreated STIs are thought to account for 10–15 percent of fetal wastage and 30–50 percent of antenatal infections and are linked to cervical cancer and ectopic pregnancy. Furthermore, untreated STIs are associated with a significant increase in the rate of HIV infection—as much as three to five times. 

Preventing and treating STIs can therefore be an effective means of reducing reproductive morbidity and can be expected to make a major contribution to reducing HIV infection. Existing technologies (e.g., condoms and diaphragms) as well as new and alternative technologies (e.g., rapid diagnostic tests) for preventing and diagnosing RTIs/STIs are being studied with the aim of removing the barriers that prevent people, in particular women, from protecting themselves and seeking care and treatment once infected. This work is taking place in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, and South Africa. 

Scaling up HIV/AIDS initiatives 
In an effort to identify effective program approaches for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support, several studies were completed and new ones initiated through the Population Council's Horizons program. Study results have been disseminated widely at both the national and international levels. Most significantly, these results are being used to inform HIV/AIDS program and policy directions in various countries. 

In the area of prevention, for example, training curriculum and evaluation procedures developed through a Horizons-supported study to test comprehensive packages of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Kenya have been adopted in 20 other sites in that country. In the Dominican Republic, the results of a Horizons evaluation of condom use are serving as the basis for a USAID/World Bank plan to scale up a 100-percent condom use program nationwide. Results from Horizons research on effective workplace HIV/AIDS programs and policies in over 100 participating companies in Thailand will form the basis for scaling up the project in more than 25 provinces in Thailand by the Thai Business Coalition on AIDS and the Thai Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare with funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. 

Study of violence against women, an important but neglected area of reproductive health 
The global magnitude and impact of violence against women is staggering. In addition to violating human rights, such violence also poses significant risks to the reproductive health of women. The most common form, domestic violence committed against women, remains relatively hidden and is often ignored in reproductive health research and programming. The risks associated with this form of domestic violence include immediate physical and psychological injury as well as gynecologic disorders, unsafe abortions, pregnancy complications, unwanted pregnancy, and STIs, including HIV. 

In an effort to better understand the types, prevalence, and impact of violence against women, and with a view to informing policies and programs dealing with the issue, IPD researchers undertook studies in Bangladesh, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Preliminary findings from a number of these studies point to the need for additional research to gain in-depth knowledge about the nature, frequency, impact and determinants of violence against women. Findings from Pakistan and Vietnam point to the need for integrating domestic violence counseling in antenatal care services. In Vietnam, continuing the Council's groundbreaking intervention research on violence against women, a project to train health providers to screen for, counsel, and treat the physical and emotional problems of victims of violence against women was initiated in 2002. 

Research Areas

• Gender and Family Dynamics
• HIV/AIDS
• Infants and Children
• Quality of Care
• Reproductive Health
• Strengthening Local Resources
• Transitions to Adulthood

Research Locations

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia
• Middle East

Programs

• Frontiers in Reproductive Health
• Gender, Family, and Development
• Horizons
• Reproductive Health

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This page updated 4 October 2005

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