To begin the day, we met with former Russian cardiologist Dr. Yacobsen and discussed her transition from cardiology to the ECHO department and her work in other countries. From a newspaper ad asking for a new employee well-versed in Russian, she jumped at the opportunity and now works with contraceptives. For further learning in the subject of contraception, we went to the PQC Lab- a laboratory owned by FHI to test anything from cervical caps, mosquito netting, to drugs. At the lab, they filled condoms with water to check for leaks and we even got to watch them explode! All of the testing was fascinating and crucial for the wellbeing of each and every person that FHI helps throughout the world. Back at FHI, we met with Ms. Pirzadeh and Dr. Hubacher, both a part of or have worked with the Contraceptive Technology Innovation Department. Ms. Pirzadeh and Dr. Yacobsen both work under PSTS and work with “Research Utilization” to take data and statistics and transform them into information that is easy to comprehend for a variety of people. Lastly, we spoke to Dr. Hubacher, the “IUD King”. He knows everything there is to know about intrauterine devices- differences between products, prices, and policies in countries. For instance, an IUD in Africa could cost about 50 cents, however here it could cost hundreds of dollars! We also discussed the fascinating trends of IUDs throughout the past few decades, peaking, then plunging, and finally peaking again. The unpopularity was probably caused by a form of IUD that underwent little testing and resulted in an ineffective product with a 6% fail rate and a high infection rate due to the material of the strings.
Condom Testing!
A variety of IUDs available in different countries.