Without investing in women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, the world cannot drive societal progress to achieve the Sustainable Development goals, argues Zeba Sathar, Pakistan Country Director for the Population Council and Marleen Temmerman, Director of the Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Aga Khan University.

In a blog post at the Maternal Health Task Force, Ann Blanc, Vice President of Social and Behavioral Science Research at the Population Council, makes a powerful case for why investing in high-quality research matters, now more than ever.

In a blog post for FHI 360’s Contraceptive Technology Innovation Exchange, Julia Bunting, President of the Population Council, and Laneta Dorflinger, Distinguished Scientist and Director for Contraceptive Technology, outline what needs to be done to increase access to the broadest choice of quality, affordable, and acceptable contraceptives.

This summer, the Population Council's Nestorone®/Testosterone transdermal gel, a new topical gel that blocks sperm production, will begin a Phase IIb clinical trial. The trial will start in the U.S. before being expanded to Britain, Italy, Sweden, Chile, and Kenya.

Council researcher Nanlesta Pilgrim writes about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s recent decision to expand the approval of Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV for use in at-risk adolescents and the continued need to improve services for adolescents, in the U.S. and around the world. 

In a blog post for FHI 360’s Contraceptive Technology Innovation Exchange, the Council’s Saumya RamaRao, senior associate, and Loreley Villamide-Herrera, biomedical program manager, highlight the latest advances in the novel drug delivery platform of vaginal rings.

In response to the New York Times editorial about new efforts in the U.S. to promote debunked abstinence-only education, Population Council Senior Associate Nicole Haberland pens a letter to the editor about what the data actually show about sex education effectiveness.

In an op-ed in STAT News, Regine Sitruk-Ware, Distinguished Scientist at Population Council, highlights the latest advancements in male contraceptive research and dispels common misconceptions about the future of male birth control.

The BBC reports on the scope and effects of pervasive child marriage across Latin America, spotlighting the potential of the Council’s Abriendo Oportunidades program in rural Guatemala to empower girls.

Several promising male contraceptive products are currently making their way through clinical trials, Vox writes, including Nestorone®/Testosterone transdermal gel, a new topical gel that blocks sperm production.