REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROGRAM

Staff members with the Population Council’s Reproductive Health program seek to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes—especially for disadvantaged populations in developing countries—through the development and introduction of appropriate technologies, assistance to policymakers in formulating evidence-based policies, and innovations in service delivery. Activities include basic biomedical research; the development of male and female contraceptives and other health products; contraceptive evaluation and introduction; social science and health-related research to identify the causes of poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes; and research on the development, scale-up, financing, and sustainability of effective service-delivery models.

Specific activities that illustrate the Population Council’s Reproductive Health program include:

• Exploring a role for new and existing technologies in preventing, detecting, and treating bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as adapting existing rapid diagnostic testing for use in resource-poor settings, using diaphragms to prevent disease transmission, or allowing people with STIs to deliver medication to their partners, rather than requiring them to come to a clinic.
• Developing new contraceptives and reproductive health products for men and women, including four of the five most widely used long-acting reversible contraceptives for women.
• Finding ways to improve postabortion care, including demonstrating the importance of incorporating family planning and reproductive health care into treatment.
• Investigating ways of improving health, for example by combining reproductive health services (such as the detection of reproductive tract infections) with other health services, including family planning, antenatal care, and HIV prevention and treatment services.

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See Also

• Strengthening Professional Resources

• HIV and AIDS Program

• Poverty, Gender, and Youth Program

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