African Woman and Child Feature Service

While microbicide researchers are upbeat about the progress of the trials, Kenyan women who are expected to volunteer for such research say they are unwilling to do so because they have little knowledge about it.

Others who were interviewed said they feared contracting HIV if they participated in these trials. These two factors are emerging at a time when microbicide researchers are going into top gear to expand and recruit more volunteers.

It also indicates that the women, who are the key beneficiaries of an effective microbicide, know little about the product and the research around it.

If proven effective, a microbicide is a product that will prevent the transmission of viral infections such as HIV to the woman. It comes in a gel form and is applied before sexual contact. Many of the microbicide candidate products are still in clinical trials and none has been proven to be effective for commercialization or wider use.

But advocates of microbicides argue that the perceptions the women have about the product can be blamed on ignorance.

Rosemary Mburu, Policy Development and Advocacy Manager, Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO) blames lack of information as the biggest obstacle in making many women agree to participate in such trials.

Caroline Odada, a Programs Assistant with WOFAK agrees. She believes that up to 90 percent of women are still not aware about microbicides and their trials in Kenya.

“In fact those who know about microbicides are the clinicians, particularly those involved in the research. This means a lot of advocacy needs to be done around this issue,” says Odada.

Such advocacy is critical especially in a country where, the HIV prevalence rate among girls aged 15 to 24 years is 4.5 percent compared to 0.8 percent among boys. Likewise, more than half of those infected with HIV in Kenya are women.

Mburu says for the microbicide interventions to succeed, women need to come out in large numbers to participate in the trials. She wants them to dispel the fears that there risks involved in participating in the study as a volunteer.

“I would like to emphasize that like any other medical product, a microbicide has to go through a series of rigorous tests in animals to determine its safety before being moved into human trials.”

Mburu says that all participants who take part in such trials are made to understand that it will not protect them from HIV infection.

“The only major risk here is the person’s behaviour and not the drug itself,” Mburu adds.

This and potential risks and benefits of participation are explained to volunteers in the language of their choice, before they enrol for the study.

All volunteers are required to pass a comprehension test prior to providing written informed consent.

“Study participants are also free to withdraw from the trial at any time if they feel uncomfortable,” says Mburu.

But even as Mburu and others call on women to show a lot of interest in the microbicide studies, they warn that it would be appropriate to combine it with other gadgets to ensure 100 percent protection.

The first microbicides are likely to offer a 40-60 percent protection against HIV, with the effectiveness of the second-generation ranging between 60-80 percent, according to Mburu.

She believes if such microbicides are combined with a condom, which offers 80 to 95 percent effectiveness, then infection is unlikely to occur. Researchers further belief that microbicides will empower women, especially in situations where the man does not want use a condom or is using it ineffectively.

Maureen Murega, a program Assistant at Women fighting Aids in Kenya (WOFAK), says that the good thing about this product is that it will work for both HIV negative and positive women.

HIV negative women will be able to reduce their risks of contracting the virus, while the positive ones will prevent re-infections.

“For me this will be a product that meet our needs as women, especially those living with HIV and want to enjoy their lives like their HIV negative counterparts.”

For Odada, even when the microbicide is found to be effective, the usual worries about the pricing and availability to women who need it most will need to be addressed.

She also thinks that while people advocate for microbicides fro women, they need not alienate the men, who will also play an influential a role in the usage of this product.

“We do not want to cause chaos among couples with claims that microbicides are evil, or God knows what,” says Odada.