Multipurpose prevention tools not only have the potential to be more cost-effective and convenient but will also go a long way to address women's health needs in tandem, protecting them against HIV, unintended pregnancy and/or other STIs.
Kay Marshall, Senior communications Advisor at AVAC, told CNS (Citizen News Service) that MPTs can indeed help turn the tide against HIV, especially for women, as they combine contraception and HIV prevention and so women can achieve multiple objectives with one device and also get them at one go, avoiding multiple clinic visits. This is especially true for young women, who often worry about unintended pregnancy and are also at increased risk of acquiring HIV. So HIV prevention could be an added benefit to them in addition to protecting themselves from pregnancy. Ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic will be possible when women can choose from multiple options that meet their needs, which may change throughout their lives.
Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is the Managing Editor at CNS (Citizen News Service) and was awarded HIV Prevention Research Science Journalism Fellowship 2018 in Spain. Follow her on Twitter @Shobha1Shukla or visit www.citizen-news.org)
- Shared under Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
