The Greek philosopher Plato famously remarked that, “necessity is the mother of invention”.
Or, in more contemporary language, difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.
Let's hope this popular proverb holds true — the (re)emerging and reenergised research
area of multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) will undoubtedly need a double
measure of inspiration, creative thinking and tenacity to help begin address some
of the priority issues within reproductive and sexual health. The underlying facts
are both startling and sobering: each year, 40% of the >200 million pregnancies worldwide are unintended [
[1]
] and 448 million treatable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) [i.e. not including
syphilis, HIV, herpes simplex virus (HSV), and human papillomavirus (HPV)] are contracted
[
[2]
]; >80% of HIV infections are now acquired through sexual transmission [
[3]
]. Young women in developing countries disproportionately bear the brunt of these health
risks [
[4]
], although teenage pregnancy and STI rates are also worryingly high and increasing
in many developed countries [
Singh S, Darroch JE. Adding it up: Costs and benefits of investing in family planning and maternal and newborn health. Guttmacher Institute and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2011. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/AIU-2012-estimates.pdf.
[5]
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 19, 2013
Accepted:
June 7,
2013
Received in revised form:
June 6,
2013
Received:
May 29,
2013
Footnotes
☆Disclaimer: The views expressed in this editorial are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals or its representatives.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
