Grant acquired to fund development of female condom

Funding has been provided to create a new female condom.

A new condom for women is currently under development in the School of Public Health after SPH won the Grand Challenges Exploration, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“My plan is to create a condom that gives women more pleasure than other female condoms on the market,” Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion said.

Grand Challenges is a family of grant programs in global health. The purpose of the grant is to provide funding for public health innovation.

“In order to qualify for the grant, the project has to be innovative and something that will help change the world,” Brian Dodge, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, said.

But creation of the condom is only one step to getting it manufactured. Quality testing is also a part of the process.

“The Center for Sexual Health Promotion is always researching about ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and practicing safe sex, and Debby developing a female condom is a great step in continuing to help improve these issues in the world today,” Michael Reece, professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies, said.

The Grand Challenges Exploration grant will only provide the minimal funding needed to complete the steps necessary to get it on the market. The development of a new female condom will not just help prevent diseases. Reece said it also makes a statement.

“The School of Public Health is about health, wellness and disease prevention,” Reece said. “The development of this condom will show others the school continues to work on issues affecting public health.”