Caya Contoured Diaphragm Africa

Caya Contoured Diaphragm

In 1994, in preparation for the International Conference on Population and Development, researchers met with women from diverse regions around the world to understand their experience with contraceptives. They asked women what they liked or disliked about their current family planning options and what they would like in a contraceptive method in the future. Women stated clearly that they wanted a method that was under their control and had few side effects. So what these women wanted sounded a lot like a diaphragm.

With funding from USAID through CONRAD, a product development team at PATH embarked on feasibility research to understand how to make a diaphragm that would be easy to supply, provide, and use.

Between 1998 and 2014, PATH, CONRAD, and other partners generated evidence about the SILCS diaphragm through ten studies in multiple countries. The diaphragm achieved high marks for acceptability, safety, barrier effectiveness, and ease of use among couples in developed and developing countries, including those with no previous diaphragm experience.

In late 2010, PATH licensed the SILCS diaphragm design to Kessel Marketing & Vertriebs GmbH of Frankfurt, Germany—a company that has manufactured and distributed contraceptive and sexual health products for over 24 years. Kessel will manufacture and distribute the device in select markets. The SILCS Diaphragm achieved regulatory approval in 2013 and has since been launched in more than 20 countries under the brand name Caya® contoured diaphragm.

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