The Women's Global Health Imperative (WGHI) program conducts biomedical, epidemiologic, socio-behavioral, implementation, and health economics research to address health inequities and improve the health of vulnerable populations around the globe, with a special focus on women’s sexual and reproductive health.

WGHI researchers work towards improving accessibility and delivery of screening, prevention and screening of HIV and STIs for women and hard-to-reach populations. WGHI works in Southern and Eastern African countries as well as in India and the United States. Their research findings inform the design, implementation, and scale-up of programs, monitoring and evaluation systems, and health policies around the world.

A broad range of organizations fund WGHI projects; these organizations include the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Agency for International Development, International Partnership for Microbicides, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.K. Department for International Development, Unitaid, the World Bank, and others. Some of WGHI’s current projects include the following:

• Developing and evaluating different delivery systems for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—including subcutaneous implants, vaginal rings, pills, and injections


• Implementing, scaling-up, and evaluating HIV self-test programming


• Increasing the engagement of key and hard-to-reach populations—including sex workers, adolescent girls and young women, and men who have sex with men—in appropriate HIV prevention and care services


• Addressing gaps in research on structural and interpersonal factors affecting engagement in violence and sexual health risks among adolescents in rural, agricultural communities.

WGHI is affiliated with

University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine

University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health

Learn more about the WGHI.