Recent Meetings and Panels - 2005

Postabortion Care Consortium Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

December 2005 - Gynuity participated in the annual Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium meeting. The theme of the meeting was misoprostol in the postabortion setting. Gynuity was invited to make a series of presentations on misoprostol as a new technology for postabortion care, focusing on research, program implications, and the future direction of its use. Dr. Winikoff was the keynote speaker at the event and provided participants with background information on misoprostol, a review of the published literature, and a summary of its instructions for use. Ms. Raghavan followed the keynote address with research data from Gynuity’s studies on misoprostol for treatment of incomplete abortion. Data were presented on the success rates and satisfaction levels of women randomized to receive either misoprostol or surgical treatment in sites in sub-Saharan Africa and India. Dr. Winikoff concluded Gynuity’s presentations by describing the drug registration process and strategies to integrate misoprostol into PAC programs. The topics stimulated many interesting discussions among the group including the need for cost comparison studies of misoprostol and surgical methods, and development of a clinical protocol for treatment of incomplete abortion at the community level. Another positive outcome of the meeting was the Consortium’s decision to focus the next newsletter on misoprostol for PAC.

National Research Dissemination Meeting, Ankara, Turkey

November 2005 - A national dissemination meeting was held in Istanbul to share results of the second mifepristone-misoprostol medical abortion study conducted in Turkey in 2005. The meeting was attended by over 60 participants including national and regional ministry of health officials, university researchers, pharmaceutical companies, local NGOs and others. Ministry of health officials among other researchers and participants agreed that based on the international literature on medical abortion and the positive findings of the 2 introductory trials conducted in Turkey since 2001 that mifepristone should be marketed for medical abortion in Turkey and that the provision of services should be integrated into national policies for Reproductive and Maternal Health Services.

East, Central, and Southern African Association of Obstetrical and Gynecological Societies (ECSAOGS) Annual Meeting, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

November 2005 - Gynuity sponsored a pre-conference panel on misoprostol for reproductive health which drew over 100 participants. Harshad Sanghvi of JHPIEGO was invited to launch the discussion with an overview of misoprostol for various indications, citing studies on labor induction and the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage at the village level. Gynuity staff presented on the development of the “Instructions for Use” guidelines on the use of misoprostol for the treatment of incomplete abortion Gynuity staff also presented results from two recent studies on misoprostol for incomplete abortion conducted in Tanzania and Uganda by Gynuity and local colleagues. Andrew Weeks of The Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Uganda closed the panel with a presentation of guidelines for use of misoprostol for different indications.

Thailand National Dissemination Meeting.

October 2005 - A national dissemination meeting was held to share results of a multi-site mifepristone medical abortion study carried out by Gynuity and local colleagues. Nearly 100 gynecologists, policy makers, and representatives from the Thai FDA, the Thai Medical Council, and several women’s health advocacy groups attended the meeting. Providers from each study site presented data on efficacy, patient population, satisfaction, and service delivery at their centers. The need for better access to abortion services was echoed by all speakers, including key policy personnel from the Thai Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Thai Ministry of Public Health.

Policy Seminar on Medical Abortion, Kiev, Ukraine

October 2005 - Gynuity sponsored a one day policy seminar on medical abortion. Gynuity staff presented on topics such as the international use of mifepristone, the medical abortion experience in Moldova, issues in service delivery, and cost modeling of surgical and medical abortion. International consultants also presented on clinical issues. The seminar was attended by approximately thirty people and included Ministry of Health officials, physicians from hospitals in Kiev and Odessa, and professors and students from the school of public health in Kiev.

National Seminar-Workshop on Medical-Social Responsibility for Legal Abortion, La Paz, Bolivia

October 2005 - Gynuity co-sponsored a national meeting with the Bolivian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SBOG), Population Council, Ibis Reproductive Health, Ipas, and Family Care International. The meeting convened approximately 100 service providers, women’s health advocates, public health specialists, legal experts, and policymakers to discuss the circumstances under which abortion induction is not punishable according to Bolivia’s Penal Code, to emphasize medical providers’ responsibility to facilitate women’s access to abortion in these situations, to identify the barriers that prevent women’s right to abortion from being honored, and to develop strategies to overcome those barriers. Gynuity staff presented data about the effectiveness and safety of medical alternatives to surgical abortion.

The Royal College of OB/GYN Annual Conference, Cairo, Egypt

September 2005 - As part of the continued effort to disseminate information about misoprostol's uses in reproductive health in the region and internationally, Gynuity co-sponsored a panel on the Role of Misoprostol in Women’s Health. Gynuity staff and consultants presented on Gynuity's research with misoprostol for various reproductive health indications, including the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, treatment of incomplete abortion, and medical abortion, including experience with the method in Tunisia. The meeting was attended by providers from across the United Kingdom and the Middle East.

II Research Meeting on Unwanted Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion: Public Health Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico City, Mexico

August, 2005 - Gynuity staff presented on two research studies conducted by Gynuity in the past year. The first was a retrospective chart review of over 10,000 medical abortion cases conducted at a clandestine abortion clinic in Latin America. The second study was a knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP) survey of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) affiliates in the LAC region, highlighting results from three countries – Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Gynuity also co-organized a panel presentation with IPPF/Western Hemisphere and Catholics for a Free Choice/ Mexico entitled “From Research to Practice: Strategies to Increase Access to Abortion Services and PAC”, attended by over 70 participants. Representatives from the Brazil, Mexico and Peru IPPF affiliates presented on how they are using the results of the KAP study to integrate abortion and PAC services into their respective clinics.

Regional Abortion Meeting in the Caribbean

May 2005 - Gynuity co-sponsored a regional meeting with SaludPromujer and Ibis Reproductive Health in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean, Safe Abortion in the Caribbean: from Law to Practice. Fifty health care providers, researchers and Ministry of Health officials from fourteen Caribbean countries convened during this two-day meeting. After presentations on surgical and medical abortion techniques, service delivery issues, the practical aspects of medical abortion regimens, and opportunities for medical abortion training and research in the region, participants exchanged information about the legal framework for and access to safe abortion in the Caribbean region. They worked jointly to create a declaration for decriminalization of abortion in the Caribbean to be used as an advocacy tool in their own countries.

Meeting on the Relationship of Hormonal Contraceptive Use to HIV Transmission
May 2005 -Gynuity Health Projects held a meeting on the relationship of hormonal contraceptive use to HIV transmission and disease progression. The meeting examined the most up-to-date evidence on the topic, needs and strategies for future research, and what actions family planning and HIV prevention programs should currently be taking in response to what is known. Meeting attendees included prominent animal, human, and epidemiological researchers, managers of family planning and HIV-prevention/treatment programs, and other reproductive health professionals with an interest in the topic. The meeting was made possible through support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Child

Medical Abortion Meeting for Puerto Rican Clinicians
April 2005 - Gynuity co-sponsored a meeting with SaludProMujer from the University of Puerto Rico for approximately twenty physicians, medical students, nurses and abortion providers to raise awareness about medical abortion. The opportunity also proved useful to strengthen new relationships with colleagues and clinicians interested in participating in the medical abortion feasibility study currently in the planning stages.

Medical Abortion Workshop for Clinicians and Researchers in the Middle East and Northern Africa, Tunis, Tunisia

March 2005 - To create regional support and build on the success and lessons learned in both Tunisia and Turkey, Gynuity and the Tunisian Office National de la Famille et de la Population (ONFP) hosted a regional workshop in Hammamet, Tunisia on medical abortion. The workshop was attended by 36 prominent clinicians/researchers from the region, including those working in the public, non-profit and private sectors in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Sudan and Tunisia.  Presentations focused on sharing of the clinical and programmatic information on medical abortion with a focus on the needs of regional countries for safer abortion options, including the potential role of medical abortion methods. A second regional workshop is currently being planned for February 2006 as a broader collaboration of Gynuity with ONFP and Ibis Reproductive Health. This event will include providers from Francophone Arab countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Lebanon and a similar dissemination of information and materials in French and Arabic.