Programs

Stanford Program for International Reproductive Education Services (SPIRES)

Paul Blumenthal, MD, serves as the director for SPIRES (Stanford Program for International Reproductive Education and Services), an initiative providing technical assistance and training to family planning programs in a wide variety of countries across Africa, Asia and Central America.


The mission of SPIRES is to advance women’s health in low-resource areas by increasing access to safe and effective reproductive health care and services. SPIRES works with international and local NGOs to provide technical assistance, innovation, and oversight in the global reproductive health arena. A variety of research projects have been and continue to be carried out through SPIRES worldwide. SPIRES has conducted cervical cancer screenings for women with HIV in Ethiopia; carried out semi-quantitative pregnancy test research studies in Mexico and Vietnam; implemented a fertility awareness cell phone application in India; studied PPIUD (post partum IUD) expulsion rates in Zambia, and done consulting with PSI (Population Services International).

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