About CAMI

Who We Are

Mission

Promoting the development of and access to innovative prevention strategies that enhance sexual and reproductive health through a multidisciplinary approach.

History

CAMI was initially founded in 2001 as a California-based coalition promoting dialogue and collaboration between developers, advocates, academic researchers and health care providers working in the area of HIV/STI prevention and microbicides.  CAMI recently underwent a strategic planning process and has revised our mission to better address the intrinsic link between unplanned pregnancies and risk for STIs, including HIV, and other reproductive tract infections, as well as our commitment beyond California and microbicides.

CAMI’s Cause

Unsafe sex is one of the highest risk factors for disability and death worldwide. Every year, 340 million people acquire a curable sexually transmitted infection, 3 million people become infected with HIV, and a unknown number of people acquire chronic viral and bacterial infections. In addition, recent research estimates that over 200 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for effective contraceptives. There is an urgent need to improve existing SRH prevention strategies and to develop new multi-purpose technologies that would simultaneously prevent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other common reproductive tract infections.

As reflected in the Global Health Initiative and health care reforms new focus on integration of services, more and more people are realizing that when it comes to the future of reproductive and sexual health and the development of new prevention products, we MUST work together. It's not just that resources are limited- it's that by providing a platform for researchers, educators, policy advocates and biotechnology developers to coordinate their efforts, outcomes are enhanced and timelines are moved up.

CAMI is excited to play a key role in the launching of the Initiative for Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (IMPT) for Sexual and Reproductive Health, and serve as a convener for researchers, health care providers, advocates and biotechnology developers to share ideas and develop collaborations.

Who is the Public Health Institute

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. The mission of the Public Health Institute  is to generate and promote research, leadership and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices. Spanning a broad range of interest areas within public health and conducting a variety of types of work, our programs and projects add to the growing body of knowledge critical to our mission. The Coalition Advancing Multipurpose Innovations (CAMI) is a program of PHI.

What We Do

CAMI's work focuses on Convenings, Research, Public Education, and Policy Maker Education.

Convenings: CAMI brings together groups to share information around issues related to innovative prevention methods to enhance sexual and reproductive health (SRH).   CAMI has developed a network of organizations that participate regularly in CAMI activities, and rely on us for the latest news on SRH prevention technology development. CAMI organized and Chaired the first international Advancing Prevention Technologies for Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy Symposium in March 2009 in which nearly 150 experts participated representing 10 different countries.

An outcome of the Symposium was the evolution of the new USAID funded Initiative for Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (IMPT) for Sexual and Reproductive Health. The mission of IMPT is to accelerate the development of, and access to, multi-purpose technologies and strategies that simultaneously prevent unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and other reproductive tract infections.

Research: With support from public and private entities, CAMI conducts social science, epidemiolgical and behavioral research including market and acceptability studies as well as cost-effectiveness studies. Through our research and collaborations, we encourage a cross disciplinary approach to advance prevention technologies for reproductive health. Recent research collaborations include those with the School of Engineering at UCBerkeley, the School of Public Health at UCBerkeley, the Stern School of Business, Harvard University, and biotech firms.

Public Education: CAMI has conducted over two dozen microbicide educational trainings, regional update meetings, and forums statewide. CAMI is also engaged in improving health literacy in the area of SRH prevention. We have published the SISTER to SISTER Sex Talk novellas, one novella targeting urban adolescents (in English) and another targeting new immigrant Latina adolescent (in Spanish). These are distributed to health clinics and available through the California AIDS Clearinghouse. CAMI also produces Horizons, the CAMI newsletter.

Policy Maker Education: CAMI secured the support of several public policy initiatives supporting microbicide development on the state and federal level, including the unanimous, bipartisan support of SJR22 by the California State Legislature. We are also a member of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom that works to educate policy makers about a variety of reproductive rights issues.

Over the years we have been supported by the following: Mary Wohlford Foundation, Alliance for Microbicide Development, California Women's Foundation, CONRAD, International Partnership for Microbicides, OSEL, Inc., Population Council, PATH, Sierra Health Foundation, US Agency for International Development, Venture Strategies for Health and Development, World Health Organization.

Staff & Consultants

Elizabeth Callihan
Webmistress
ecallihan@pubcomm.com

Polly F. Harrison, PhD
Consultant
Senior Advisor, AVAC
pharrison@microbicide.org
Office: 202-686-4143
Cell: 202-487-9067

Bethany Young Holt, PhD, MPH (Biographical Sketch)
Director
byh@cami-health.com
Office: 916-987-6671
Cell: 916-337-0967

Tracy Salkowitz, MSW
Strategic Development Consultant
salkowitz@gmail.com

Kathryn Stewart, MPP
Project Coordinator
kstewart@cami-health.com
Office: 916-261-5618

Alan Stone, DPhil
Consultant
MEDSA, LTD
alan.stonex@virgin.net

CAMI Steering Committee

A Steering Committee of experts in sexual and reproductive health prevention and technologies guides the work and focus of CAMI. If you are interested in being a member of CAMI, please contact us at cami@cami-health.com

• Yali Bair, PhD, Vice President, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC), Sacramento
• Heather Boonstra, Senior Public Policy Associate, The Guttmacher Institute
• Craig Cohen, MD MPH, UCSF, Department of Obstetrics, Genecology and Reproductive Health, San Francisco
• Donna DeFreitas, MD MPH, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
• Anke Hemmerling, MD PhD MPH, Department of Obstetrics, Genecology and Reproductive Health, San Francisco
• Peter Lee, MD. CEO Osel, Inc.
• Laurel Lagenaur, PhD, OSEL, Inc/NIH, San Mateo
• Elliot Marseille, DrPH, Health Strategies International
• Matt Reeves, MD, MPH, CONRAD
• Wayne Shields, CEO Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
• Donna Sofaer. Vice President, Development and Communications. Public Health Institute
• Ariane van der Straten, PhD MPH RTI International and UCSF
• Kevin Whaley, PhD, CEO, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, San Diego