The Population Council: Evidence to Enhance Global Health and Development

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2017

The Population Council: Evidence to enhance global health and development

Population Council

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Recommended Citation "The Population Council: Evidence to enhance global health and development," fact sheet. New York: Population Council, 2017.

This Fact Sheet is brought to you for free and open access by the Population Council. THE POPULATION COUNCIL: EVIDENCE TO ENHANCE GLOBAL

fact sheet HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Population Council strives to enhance the health and well-being of FACTS AT-A-GLANCE people around the world by addressing critical issues that impede health, • Nonprofit, nongovernmental organization founded in social, and economic development. 1952 Our work allows couples to plan their • 15 global offices and 600 staff members conduct- families and chart their futures; we help ing research in nearly 50 countries people avoid HIV infection and access life-saving HIV services; we empower • Conducts field and desk-based public health and girls to protect themselves and have a social science research to enhance policies and programs to stop the spread of HIV; improve sexual and say in their own lives. reproductive health; empower girls and women; and lift the most vulnerable out of poverty The Population Council conducts research and informs policy in nearly • Home to biomedical research facilities conducting 50 countries worldwide. Through our basic, translational, and clinical research to under- stand reproductive health and disease transmission biomedical, social science, and public and develop new products to prevent unintended health research, we change the way pregnancy, HIV infection, and other STIs the world thinks about health and development. We build local capacity in developing countries to design and implement health programs and collaborate with local researchers, organizations, and governments. Our work delivers solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies to save and improve lives.

MOST [NGOs] CLAIM TO PROMOTE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER; THE POPULATION COUNCIL “ACTUALLY HAS HARD EVIDENCE OF HAVING CHANGED THE LIVES AND EXPECTATIONS OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. ——THE LANCET

JUNE 2017 ” OUR PROGRAMS

HIV/AIDS The Population Council’s research spans the biological and behavioral continuum of HIV by exploring the cellular science of the virus, supporting people living with HIV in accessing treatment, and determining the most effective prevention strategies. Our research focuses on expanding access to care and services for people affected by HIV/ AIDS, especially underserved communities, and developing innovative biomedical products. Highlights include:

The Council was among the first to document the HIV prevalence and incidence rates among some of the most vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa, including men who have sex with men. Our researchers are using these findings to help inform national strategies for effectively meeting the needs of vulnerable populations and to promote dialogue in countries where discriminatory laws and policies exist.

The Council’s Project SOAR (Supporting Operational AIDS Research) is generating critical evidence to increase coverage and the quality of HIV services and improve HIV prevention, care, and treatment policies and programs around the world.

Our work under the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) initiative helps adolescent girls and young women in countries with high HIV burdens achieve a safer, healthier future.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH The Population Council conducts research to increase access to sexual and reproductive health information, supplies, and services. With a focus on advancing rights, equity, and quality, the Council develops contraceptive products, generates evidence, and delivers program and policy solutions that protect and promote women’s health and well-being and encourage men’s supportive engagement. Highlights include:

The Council strategically generates, translates, and uses evidence through projects like the STEP UP (Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy) Research Programme Consortium and the Evidence Project to address unintended pregnancy and improve family planning policies, programs, and practices.

Our groundbreaking research on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has shaped national, regional, and international policy and practices, such as the creation of the first SGBV national policy in Zambia and the World Health Organization’s SGBV guidelines. The Council continues to lead the Africa Regional SGBV Network—a multi-country, multi-partner prevention and response research initiative in East and Southern Africa.

In Nigeria, Council research on training health providers on the administration of magnesium sulfate resulted in a 40% reduction in maternal mortality. Today, the Council’s Ending Eclampsia project continues to save mothers’ lives in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Pakistan by expanding access to proven, underutilized interventions and commodities to prevent, detect, and treat pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

Two decades of Council research have revealed the drivers, global prevalence, and most effective interventions to reduce female genital mutilation/cutting. Our leadership in the world’s largest, Africa-led research program on the practice continues to drive evidence-based strategies to prevent the practice and improve related programs and policies. POVERTY, GENDER, AND YOUTH The Council carries out research and programs that improve the lives of vulnerable girls. We focus on identifying best practices, refining the critical elements of girl-centered programs, and helping governments formulate the most effective, evidence-based policies to improve girls’ lives. The Council has designed and evaluated programs that have successfully delayed age at marriage, increased girls’ savings and social support, improved their literacy, and returned girls to formal schooling. Highlights include:

In Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Tanzania, Council programs have successfully delayed child marriage through sustainable strategies that engaged and empowered girls, their families, and their communities. These strategies—including school support, conditional economic transfers, and community conversations—are being further evaluated and scaled up.

The Council conducts research, evaluates program impact, and provides resources and technical assistance to help place gender, rights, and empowerment at the heart of sex and HIV education, notably through the development of the It’s All One comprehensive sexuality education curricula and resources. Council research found that comprehensive sexuality education programs that address gender norms and unequal power in relationships are five times more likely to reduce STIs and unintended pregnancies than programs that do not.

For decades we have published two highly cited, peer-reviewed journals (Population and Development Review and Studies in Family Planning) that shape programs, policies, and research methodologies. THE GIRL CENTER: BUILDING ON DECADES OF RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY TO EMPOWER ADOLESCENT GIRLS

GIRL Center

The Council’s new Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning Center (GIRL Center) is a global research center that generates, synthesizes, and translates evidence to transform the lives of adolescent girls. The GIRL Center is building the largest data repository on adolescents, curating the Council’s data on more than 120,000 adolescents along with data from other organizations to provide practical insights on how girls’ lives evolve through their adolescent years, and what interventions are most effective and cost-efficient at delivering the best outcomes. By challenging ourselves to prioritize investments in what works—and to disengage from what doesn’t—we can better direct limited resources to supporting evidence-based solutions that have been shown to improve girls’ lives.

THE CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: IMPROVING SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS

The Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research (CBR)—located at New York’s Rockefeller University—is a vibrant hub of scientific investigation and product development. For more than 60 years, research conducted in the CBR laboratories has addressed critical questions in reproductive health and HIV prevention, and supported the development of innovative products that help protect the health and well-being of millions of women, men, and young people worldwide.

CBR researchers pioneered the field of long-acting, reversible contraception (LARC), developing IUDs such as ParaGard® (the copper-T IUD) and Mirena®; contraceptive implants; and more recently, vaginal rings and male contraceptives. The work of CBR has allowed millions of women and couples to plan their families and has informed an entire field of product development. Today, more than 170 million people worldwide are using contraceptive technologies developed at CBR or based on Council products.

The need for innovative new tools to protect against unplanned pregnancies, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is greater than ever. CBR researchers are working to develop the next- generation of safe, effective contraception and HIV and STI prevention options.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON POPULATION COUNCIL PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH, VISIT WWW.POPCOUNCIL.ORG POPULATION COUNCIL OFFICES

UNITED STATES Kenya India Population Council Population Council Headquarters Avenue 5, 3rd Floor Zone 5A, Ground Floor Population Council Rose Avenue India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Nairobi, Kenya New Delhi, India 110003 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017 USA Tel: +254 20 271 3480 Tel: +91 11 2 464 2901 Tel: +1 212 339 0500 Fax: +254 20 271 3479 Fax: +91 11 2 464 2903 Fax: +1 212 755 6052 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Nigeria Center for Biomedical Research Population Council Pakistan Population Council No. 16 Mafemi Crescent Population Council 1230 York Avenue Utako District House No. 7, Street No. 62, New York, NY 10065 USA Abuja, Nigeria Sector F-6/3 Tel: +1 212 327 8731 Fax: +1 212 327 7678 Tel: +234 (0) 9 291 4878 Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +92 51 844 5566 Fax: +92 51 282 1401 Washington, DC Senegal E-mail: [email protected] Population Council Population Council 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW Sacré Coeur 3 Pyrotechnie Suite 280 Appartement 2ème Etage à Droite LATIN AMERICA AND THE Washington, DC 20008 USA Dakar, Senegal CARIBBEAN Tel: +1 202 237 9400 21027 DAKAR PONTY Fax: +1 202 237 8410 Mexico E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +221 33 859 5300 Fax: +221 33 824 1998 Population Council E-mail: [email protected] Insurgentes Sur #2453 Torre INTERNATIONAL Murano Piso 9 Local 903 Zambia Colonia Tizapán, Delagación AFRICA Population Council Álvaro Obregón Plot #3670 No. 4 Mwaleshi Road México D.F. México 01090 Burkina Faso Tel: +52 55 5999 8645 Population Council Olympia Park Lusaka, Zambia 10101 Fax: +52 55 5999 8631 Secteur 15 Ouaga 2000, Zone B E-mail: [email protected] 1296, Avenue Ousmane Sembene Tel. +260 221 295925 Porte No 1244/1246 Fax: +260 221 295925 E-mail: [email protected] Guatemala Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso O1 BP 6250 Population Council Tel: +226 25 37 52 19 23 Avenida 3-45 Fax: +226 50 31 12 46 ASIA Zona 15, Vista Hermosa 1 E-mail: [email protected] Guatemala City Bangladesh Guatemala 01015 Ethiopia Population Council Tel: +502 2369 2760 Population Council House # 15B, Road # 13 Tel2: +502 5293 0030 Heritage Plaza, 4th Floor Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1212 Fax: +502 2369 2760 Bole Medhaneialem Road Tel: +880 2 882 1227 E-mail: [email protected] Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Fax: +880 2 882 3127 Tel: +251 116 631 712 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +251 116 631 722 MIDDLE EAST E-mail: [email protected] Cambodia Population Council Egypt Ghana #12 Eo, St. 41, Sangkat Tonle Bassac Population Council Population Council Khan Chamkar Morn 59 Misr-Helwan Agricultural Road Maadi 14B Ridge Road Phnom Penh, Cambodia PO Box 168, Maadi Roman Ridge Tel: +855 10 330 184 Cairo, Egypt 11431 Accra, Ghana E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +20 2 2525 5968 Tel: +233 30 2 780711 Fax: +20 2 2525 5962 Fax: +233 30 2 780713 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, we work with our partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.