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FHI Receives USAID Research Award -- December 13, 1999

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has approved a five-year agreement with Family Health International (FHI) to continue contraceptive research and related reproductive health projects.

The cooperative agreement, expected to total $87 million over the next five years, continues work being done under an existing five-year agreement that ends August 31, 2000. The follow-on agreement begins September 1, 2000 and continues to August 31, 2005.

"The need for this vital work has never been greater," said JoAnn Lewis, MPH, FHI senior vice president for reproductive health. "Each day, 1,600 women die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth, most of them in the developing world. Far too many of these unfortunate women did not wish to become pregnant, yet had no means to avoid pregnancy. Women are also at growing risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, and desperately need methods that provide protection against these threats as well."

USAID administers foreign aid, which includes efforts to deliver family planning services, promote safe pregnancy and delivery, and integrate reproductive health with other needs, such as child nutrition and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

The contraceptive research and related efforts by FHI help families in the developing world to have access to safe, effective, acceptable and affordable contraceptive options, allowing couples to choose freely how many children to have and when to have them. Also, FHI's contraceptive research involving condoms, spermicides and microbicides leads to better strategies for preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. FHI typically has worked in more than 30 countries each year under the agreement.

FHI is a recognized leader in research on contraceptive safety, efficacy, and acceptability, and has conducted research on every type of modern contraception currently available -- hormonal methods, such as oral contraceptives and injectables; barrier methods, including the male and female condoms; intrauterine devices; and male and female sterilization. For example, FHI research supported the 1993 approval of the female condom for contraceptive use in the United States. Current FHI research is examining the female condom's ability to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

In addition to research on contraceptive methods, the USAID agreement emphasizes ways to enhance the quality of family planning services worldwide. For example, identifying and removing obstacles to a person's use of contraception is the objective of some research projects. Other projects address the economics of reproductive health services in developing countries, seeking better ways to use limited resources.

The agreement also seeks to improve the research capacity of developing country scientists, and to distribute scientific information about reproductive health to providers worldwide. For example, USAID and grants from private foundations support an FHI Fellowship in Contraceptive Technology Research, which brings outstanding developing country scientists to FHI for a year of advanced study in clinical trials design and implementation.