Technology that transforms lives
Few medical advances have had the profound and widespread effect of the birth control pill. In the 50 years since its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, 200 million women have used oral contraceptives, and the pill’s effect on women, families, and cultures worldwide has been transformative.
View live streaming of the conference on the Women Deliver website.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill, PATH experts are taking part in a day-long technology symposium exploring the pill’s history and role in the lives of women and their families. PATH’s Reproductive Health Global Program is pleased to assist in organizing the special symposium, to be held June 8 as part of the Women Deliver 2010 conference in Washington, DC. PATH’s president and CEO, Dr. Christopher J. Elias, will serve as chair of the symposium.
A look at the next 50 years
In addition to examining the pill’s impact, panelists at the symposium will look to the future role of technology in bettering health for women and children. José Jeronimo, director of PATH’s START-UP project in cervical cancer detection and prevention, will take part in a session on technologies with potential to help women and girls prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, human papillomavirus (HPV), and syphilis. Rae Galloway, technical director with PATH’s Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Global Program, will moderate a session on improving nutrition for mothers and newborns.
Solutions to improve women’s health
The symposium, titled “Technology as a Catalyst for Social Transformation: A Fifty Year Retrospective on the Birth Control Pill” will be held on the second day of the Women Deliver 2010 conference, which focuses on political, economic, social and cultural, and technological solutions to women’s health issues. The conference runs June 7–9 and is organized by Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization calling for action against maternal death.
Conference participants may attend the technology symposium as part of the Women Deliver 2010 conference or as a single-day event. Please see Women Deliver 2010 Technology Symposium for more information.
PATH invites conference attendees to see us in Expo Hall Booth 402 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.