Stakeholder consultations were held in March for MTN-042 and MTN-043

In March 2019, the MTN held stakeholder consultations in Johannesburg, South Africa and Blantyre, Malawi on two HIV prevention studies currently being planned – DELIVER (MTN-042), for pregnant women, and B-PROTECTED (MTN-043), for women who are breastfeeding. The meetings provided stakeholders with the opportunity to share their views about the studies before their anticipated start later this year or early 2020. The DELIVER and B-PROTECTED studies plan to evaluate the safety of two HIV prevention methods – the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring and daily use of Truvada as PrEP. Topics addressed during the meetings included regulatory plans, study implementation and community engagement. The meeting in Malawi meeting was co-hosted by AVAC and Maikhanda Trust, an NGO focused on maternal and infant health, in collaboration with the Blantyre Clinical Research Site – Johns Hopkins Research Project. The meeting in Johannesburg was co-hosted by AVAC and Soul City Institute for Social Justice, in collaboration with the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute.