As the world’s eyes turn towards sexual and reproductive health ahead of July’s major Family Planning Summit, experts from Marie Stopes International revealed Impact 2 today, an updated tool which allows organisations to estimate the high level impact of their sexual and reproductive health services in less developed countries*.

Presented to experts throughout the sexual and reproductive health sector at the Wellcome Trust in London, this innovative tool is the solution to a problem that many family planning organisations face – namely, the difficulty of demonstrating high level outcomes such as maternal lives saved, without having to use expensive surveys and complex mathematical modelling themselves.

Thirty-five million women worldwide use injectable contraceptives such as Depo-Provera (also known as DMPA) to prevent unwanted pregnancy, and this number is projected to grow. In some regions of the world—for example, sub-Saharan Africa—DMPA is the most widely used modern contraceptive method. DMPA is popular among women for many reasons: it is discreet, affordable, highly effective, and convenient, only requiring a reinjection every 13 weeks. Furthermore, because DMPA only contains progestin and not estrogen, breastfeeding women can use it for postpartum family planning.

Despite its many benefits, the scientific community has raised several concerns about DMPA use. In the past, these concerns have included a loss of bone mineral density among users, though research has demonstrated that this loss is reversed once use is discontinued. This winter, a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases suggested an increased risk of HIV infection among women who use DMPA. However, after a careful review of the evidence, the WHO issued a statement in February affirming that women with HIV or at high risk of HIV can safely use hormonal contraceptives to prevent pregnancy but that these women should always use male or female condoms to protect against HIV infection.

For more commentary of the WHO’s statement concerning DMPA, read “WHO Upholds Guidance on Hormonal Contraceptive Use and HIV Risk) by Ruwaida Salem.

In 2012, the second edition of the Knowledge Management Handbook: Collaboration and Social Networking (J. Liebowitz, Ed.) and the second edition of Knowledge Management: Theory and Practice (K. Dalkir) will be published.  In spite of these second editions and many other knowledge management articles and books that have been published over the years, misconceptions about knowledge management (KM) still accrue.  What are they and why is this so?

This is the third in a series of posts about upcoming changes to our web product portfolio (here’s Part 1 from December, and Part 2 from March). The next big set of changes has arrived: the enhancements to K4Health’s main website, www.k4health.org, are rolling out today. I'd like to say a huge "Thank you!" to everyone involved in this process. It has been an amazing group effort, and I'm proud to work with such a great team.

What’s New? In addition to the more modern, engaging look (already familiar to our blog readers), you’ll find several new features, including: