Sexually transmitted infections (STI) are not only a neglected public health problem but also a societal one. One million new curable STIs occur every day in the world, mostly in low – and middle – income countries. STIs, such as syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea may have serious complications, especially for women’s reproductive health. Others, such as human papillomavirus, can cause cancer. Even though effective interventions to prevent and treat STI exist, neither governments nor other policy makers give them high priority or grant investments in their prevention.

This project is structured around three questions:

• What are the factors that influence the political prioritisation of STIs as a global health issue?
• What is the total global burden of disease caused by STI, based on statistical methods to combining data from different sources?
• What are community views about STI in pregnancy?

The methods employed in the project include policy analysis, estimations of the total global burden of disease as well as interviews with pregnant women and key informants in Papua New Guinea and Zambia. Gender will be one of the main research lenses while examining these questions.

This project’s findings will help public health officials make the changes needed to prioritise the prevention and control of STI worldwide.