WHO released updated guidance on “Hormonal Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV”. The WHO updated guidance shifts DMPA, other progestogen-only injectables and IUDs to a MEC 1 classification, which states that the products can be used without restriction. The updated WHO recommendations follow a thorough review of the latest scientific evidence, including the recent results of the ECHO trial, which evaluated whether the risk of HIV differs with the use of three different safe and effective contraceptive methods.
Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV Guidance Statement
The ECHO Trial Results: Time to Act
In this episode of Px Pulse. we take a look the results of the ECHO study and what they mean from several angles. Leaders of the trial, formally called Evidence for Contraceptive options in HIV Outcomes, announced study findings in mid-June. ECHO found no substantial difference in HIV acquisition among women using one of three highly effective contraceptive methods in the study: DMPA-IM, the copper IUD, the LNG implant).
Understanding the Results of the ECHO Study
A comprehensive guide to interpreting the results of the ECHO Study. Includes concise information on the study’s background, design and results, and a full section on next steps such as the WHO process for updating its guidance and what advocates can do to get involved.
A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results
On June 13, 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.
The ECHO Trial: Preparing for action
In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC spoke with two leaders from the ECHO trial team, Dr. Jared Baeten and Dr. Helen Rees, to understand what the trial can and cannot tell us. And you’ll hear leading women’s advocates from several countries where the ECHO trial took place share their demands. Carry what you learn forward as the ECHO trial raises the volume on an urgent conversation—how to empower African women around their sexual and reproductive health.
Women Speak: Preparing for the results of the ECHO trial
Civil society led by and for women in Africa is working with allies around the world to prepare for the ECHO results and advance a broader agenda of sexual health and rights that centers women and affirms the right to full information and informed choice, as well as integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health programs. Reports from civil society forum meetings in 2018, as well as key resources, are available here.
Hormonal Contraception and HIV Risk: Understanding the ECHO trial
The Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) Study is an open-label, randomized, clinical trial comparing three highly effective, reversible methods of contraception — the progestogen-only injectable depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), a levonorgestrel implant, and the non-hormonal copper intrauterine device — to evaluate whether there is any difference in the risk of acquiring HIV infection among users of these methods.
Results, expected in mid-2019, will help guide the implementation of safe, effective policies and services that will enable women at high risk of HIV to make fully informed choices about contraception and HIV prevention.
The webinar featured:
Beth Schlachter, Executive Director, FP2020
Dr. Jared Baeten, Vice Chair, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, ECHO Consortium
Dr. Nelly Mugo, Research Associate Professor, Global Health, University of Washington, ECHO Management Committee
Tamar Abrams, Communications Director, FP2020
You may view the webinar here.
Deprioritizing Women’s Lives in 2017
This short excerpt from our AVAC Report 2017 contains two stories: an update on hormonal contraception and HIV risk, including what to look out for in 2018, and an explanation of the damage caused by the Trump Administration’s expanded Global Gag Rule, preventing any organization receiving US global health funding from advocating for abortion as a family planning method.
2018 and HIV Prevention: AVAC’s Take
In this episode hear about recently published findings from a study out of Rakai, Uganda confirm that scaling up of a combination of existing interventions, such as voluntary medical male circumcision and antiretroviral therapy provides protection from HIV at the population-level. How do we apply these findings at the global level? How should advocates prepare for results—anticipated in 2019—of the ECHO trial that’s looking at the effect of hormonal contraceptives on HIV risk? And what needs to happen in 2018 to reach long-term global targets for ending the epidemic?
PrEP and Trial Design — A no brainer for some
In this episode of AVAC’s Px Pulse podcast series, Slim Abdool Karim, co-principal investigator of the landmark CAPRISA 004 study, talks about why designing trials with oral PrEP is a must—scientifically and ethically.