Publications

WHO, UNAIDS and UNFPA welcome the results of a large clinical research study known as the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) study that was conducted in four African countries and published in the Lancet today. The study compared the risk of HIV acquisition among women randomized to three highly-effective reversible contraceptive methods.

The ECHO study found no significant difference in risk of HIV infection among women using one of the three methods. It did find, however, that incidence of HIV infections among the participants was high 4 an average of 3.56 4 indica7ng that HIV remains a signi8cant personal risk and public health challenge for many women in these countries. In settings with high HIV prevalence, a major effort will be needed to rapidly scale up provision of combination HIV prevention services as part of
contraceptive service delivery.

The World Health Organization has immediately initiated a process of updating and synthesizing all the evidence on use of contraception and HIV infection risk. As is standard practice when important new research findings are published relating to contraceptive safety, WHO will convene a Guideline Development Group to examine the updated evidence on links between the use of various hormonal contraceptive methods and women’s risk of HIV acquisition. The Guideline Development Group will meet at the end of July 2019 to assess whether current WHO guidance needs to change in the light of the updated evidence.