June 24, 2019
[UPDATE: Recording and slides from the webinar are now available below. And a link to Understanding the Results of the ECHO Study is now available as well.]
Please join women and our allies for a global webinar, Thursday, June 27, 9-10am EDT / 3-4pm SAST / 4-5pm EAT, on shaping the post-ECHO agenda for comprehensive sexuality and reproductive health and rights. This emerging agenda will inform an upcoming WHO meeting on this critical subject. Please join the leaders of the Civil Society Working Group on HC-HIV, members of the ECHO Global Community Advisory Group and young women advocates for this discussion with WHO and the ECHO Consortium Management Team members.
On June 13, the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) study released its results. The study was designed to evaluate the risk of acquiring HIV among HIV-negative women who used one of three contraceptive methods: depot medroxyprogesterone acetate-intramuscular (DMPA-IM), also known as Depo-Provera, a copper intrauterine device (Cu-IUD), and a levonorgestrel (LNG) implant, also known as Jadelle. The study found that there was no substantial difference in HIV risk among women using any of these three methods. These results mark an important step for women’s health—the findings provide evidence that WHO and national ministries of health will hopefully use as they develop policies and programs that directly impact women’s lives.
What do the ECHO study results mean for African women: A webinar organized by the Civil Society Working Group on HC-HIV (co-convened by AVAC and ICW-EA) — Thursday, June 27
Recordings & Slides: YouTube / Jared Baeten and Tim Mastro’s Slides / James Kiarie’s Slides.
Prepare for the discussion with resources available on www.avac.org/echotrial, which are also highlighted below:
- HIV incidence among women using intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, a copper intrauterine device, or a levonorgestrel implant for contraception: a randomised, multicentre, open-label trial— The Lancet
- How Should We Listen to ECHO? — The Lancet commentary
- Watch the presentation of the ECHO study results from the SA AIDS Conference
- FP2020 and AVAC held a webinar, A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results, with the ECHO team following the results announcement. The webinar explained the trial, provided topline results, outlined next steps, and offered key advocacy messages to help all stakeholders understand the findings. Watch here.
- Visit the ECHO page for a statement from the Civil Society Working Group on HC-HIV on the study results, as well as a range of other public statements on the results and their implications.
In the coming days, AVAC will release Understanding the Results of the ECHO Study, a document designed to help advocates understand some of the issues related to the ECHO trial, the questions it was designed to answer, its findings and next steps. AVAC will also release the next episode of our Px Pulse podcast, where you will hear from members of the ECHO Trial team and leading women’s advocates discuss what they think about the results, so be on the lookout!