Building a Microbicides Movement
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Transcript of Building a Microbicides Movement
www.global-campaign.orgBuilding a Microbicides Movement
Partnerships in advocacy and science.
Global Campaign for Microbicides
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“If scientists can put a man on the moon, why can’t they make something
women can use to protect ourselves from AIDS?
Ugandan participant in violence workshop, 1992
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Why Not?
• Women advocates investigate the possibility with scientists
• Few scientists working on microbicides, very little support or funding
• Collaboration between women’s health advocate and scientist to write “The Case for Microbicides” (1993)
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A growing movement
• Recognition that advocacy from a women’s health and reproductive rights framework was needed, along with the scientific research.
• Ongoing informal collaboration between women’s health advocates, microbicides scientists and government agencies in US.
• WHAM formed, 1995.• International consultation on practical and
ethical dilemmas in clinical trials, 1997.• Global Campaign for Microbicides launched in
1998.
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What is the Global Campaign?
• Small team, “secretariat” based in US and international steering committee to provide guidance and strategy
• Partnership with co-sponsoring organizations that endorsed the goals of the Campaign, all working in their own domain.
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Goals of the Global Campaign
Raise awareness and mobilize political support for increased funding for microbicide research, female condom and cervical barrier methods;
Create a supportive policy environment for the timely development, introduction and use of new prevention technologies; and
Ensure that as science proceeds, the public interest is protected and the rights and interests of trial participants, users, and communities are fully represented and respected.
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Awareness-raising and Resource Mobilization
• Strategies differ between global North and South
• North- increase public investment in research and development
• South- demonstrate demand and confront myths that act as barriers
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Supportive policy environment
• Anticipating and answering policy questions
• Building knowledge, capacity of policy-makers
• Building networks to tackle policy issues
• Providing evidence of impact of new prevention technologies
• Support research that addresses policy questions
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Protecting public interest
• Global Campaign’s “constituency” is the eventual users of microbicides
• GCM advocates WITHIN the microbicides field on issues that affect our constituency
• Ethics consultations• Community involvement in research• Trade-offs between speed, certainty,
and expense
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Global Campaign Today
• Over 200 endorsing organizations, 20+ partner organizations.
• Work with Alliance, IFH, IPM, research networks etc.
• Active/growing “sites” in 10 US cities and Canada, UK/Ireland, India, Uganda, South Africa, Thailand, Ghana.
• Within broad agenda of Global Campaign, sites create their own agendas relevant to their needs, interests, and constituency.
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The M2004 pre-conference
• Preparation for advocates to participate in the scientific discussions
• Updates to help inform advocacy• Opportunity for advocates and
scientists to meet and share strategies
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Acknowledgements
• Scholarship committee for arranging travel to allow for participation in the workshop
• Imperial Medical College for the space
• Lorna Calquhon for support and assistance with arrangements
• Imogen Fua and Bindiya Patel for preparation, communication, and materials
www.global-campaign.orgThe best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next
best time is now.