Key TakeawaysThe dapivirine ring has received pre-qualification from the World Health Organization (WHO).The vaginal ring can help reduce the risk of HIV infection in women.Experts are hopeful that at-risk women will use the ring once it becomes available.

Key Takeaways

The dapivirine ring has received pre-qualification from the World Health Organization (WHO).The vaginal ring can help reduce the risk of HIV infection in women.Experts are hopeful that at-risk women will use the ring once it becomes available.

A vaginal ring to prevent HIV has received pre-qualification from the World Health Organization (WHO), putting it one step closer to being an HIV-preventative for people with vaginas around the world.

What Is HIV?Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Most people don’t know that they’re infected with HIV.There is no cure for HIV, but the virus and its symptoms can be controlled with proper medical care.

What Is HIV?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Most people don’t know that they’re infected with HIV.There is no cure for HIV, but the virus and its symptoms can be controlled with proper medical care.

HIV Around the World

However, the WHO also reported that 690,000 people died from HIV-related causes in 2019 and 1.7 million people were newly infected. The WHO website states: “We will need to redouble our efforts to avoid the worst-case scenario a half-million excess deaths in Sub Saharan Africa, increasing HIV infections due to HIV service disruptions during COVID-19, and the slowing public health response to HIV."

HIV Statistics You Should Know

Zeda Rosenberg, ScD, founder and chief executive officer of the IPM (the nonprofit that developed the ring) tells Verywell that it took four prototypes and 16 years to get to this point with the device.

“As a public health scientist, I always felt very strongly that this was something we should be doing,” she says. “The public health community understands that women bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic because of biological reasons—during sex, women are exposed to more virus. Women are often not able to negotiate safe sex. They need prevention options.”

When Rosenberg started developing the ring in 2004,vaginal rings were already on the market for contraceptionand hormone replacement therapy. “We thought, ‘Why not do something like that for HIV prevention?'”

Zeda Rosenberg, ScDWomen are often not able to negotiate safe sex. They need prevention options.

Zeda Rosenberg, ScD

Women are often not able to negotiate safe sex. They need prevention options.

How Dapivirine Ring Works

The dapivirine ring is made of flexible silicone and contains dapivirine, an anti-retroviral drug that is slowly released over the course of a month.

The ring delivers dapivirine directly at the site of a potential HIV infection and only small amounts of the drug are absorbed into the body. To use it, women insert the flexible ring into the vagina and leave it there for a month.When the recommended timeframe is up, they remove the ring and insert a new one.

Why a Ring?

One of the most commonly used medications to help prevent HIV is pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which works to prevent the HIV virus from replicating in the body.

“Daily oral PrEP is great if you can use it. It is safe and effective,”Sharon Hillier, PhD, Richard Sweet Professor of Reproductive Infectious Disease at the Magee-Women’s Research Institute, tells Verywell. “But many people who start PrEP stop PrEP after a few weeks. I like to say that PrEP is easy to start, but hard for some people to continue because it is hard to keep doing something every day.”

While using a vaginal ring “takes some getting used to” for women, it’s also “easy to use because you insert it once a month and then you can forget about it,” Hillier says. “Since HIV prevention has to continue over not days but rather years, persistence of use is a key feature of a successful prevention product."

Barriers to Using PrEP to Prevent HIV

The amount of exposure to antiretroviral drugs is lower with the ring as compared to a dailyoral PrEP. “That means that the vaginal ring has an outstanding safety profile—no bone or kidney effects and no systemic side effects, like nausea or GI upset,” Hillier says. “So, for people who have problems with the side effects of daily oral PrEP the dapivirine vaginal ring is a great option.”

Rosenberg says that, for women, condom usage “is not entirely under their control, [but] having a ring that she can insert and forget about changes that.”

8 Ways to Prevent HIV

How Effective Is the Dapivirine Ring?

What’s Next for the Dapivirine Ring

The company is working with a network of government, donor, private, and civil society partners to determine how the ring could fit into HIV prevention programs and be affordable.

“I do think that the dapivirine vaginal ring will be an important new tool in the fight against HIV,” Hillier aTA. “When people have more options of what they can use to protect themselves from HIV, they are more likely to find something that works for them.”

What This Means For You

7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.International Partnership For Microbicides.IPM’s dapivirine ring for women’s HIV prevention receives WHO prequalification.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About HIV/AIDS.World Health Organization (WHO).HIV/AIDS.International Partnership For Microbicides.Dapivirine ring.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About PrEP.Nel A, van Niekerk N, Kapiga S, Bekker LG, Gama C, Gill K, Kamli A, et al.Safety and efficacy of a dapivirine vaginal ring for hiv prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2133-2143.Baeten JM, Palanee-Phillips T, Brown ER, Schwartz K, Soto-Torres LE, Govender V, et al.Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for hiv-1 prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2121-2132.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.International Partnership For Microbicides.IPM’s dapivirine ring for women’s HIV prevention receives WHO prequalification.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About HIV/AIDS.World Health Organization (WHO).HIV/AIDS.International Partnership For Microbicides.Dapivirine ring.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About PrEP.Nel A, van Niekerk N, Kapiga S, Bekker LG, Gama C, Gill K, Kamli A, et al.Safety and efficacy of a dapivirine vaginal ring for hiv prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2133-2143.Baeten JM, Palanee-Phillips T, Brown ER, Schwartz K, Soto-Torres LE, Govender V, et al.Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for hiv-1 prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2121-2132.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

International Partnership For Microbicides.IPM’s dapivirine ring for women’s HIV prevention receives WHO prequalification.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About HIV/AIDS.World Health Organization (WHO).HIV/AIDS.International Partnership For Microbicides.Dapivirine ring.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About PrEP.Nel A, van Niekerk N, Kapiga S, Bekker LG, Gama C, Gill K, Kamli A, et al.Safety and efficacy of a dapivirine vaginal ring for hiv prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2133-2143.Baeten JM, Palanee-Phillips T, Brown ER, Schwartz K, Soto-Torres LE, Govender V, et al.Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for hiv-1 prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2121-2132.

International Partnership For Microbicides.IPM’s dapivirine ring for women’s HIV prevention receives WHO prequalification.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About HIV/AIDS.

World Health Organization (WHO).HIV/AIDS.

International Partnership For Microbicides.Dapivirine ring.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About PrEP.

Nel A, van Niekerk N, Kapiga S, Bekker LG, Gama C, Gill K, Kamli A, et al.Safety and efficacy of a dapivirine vaginal ring for hiv prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2133-2143.

Baeten JM, Palanee-Phillips T, Brown ER, Schwartz K, Soto-Torres LE, Govender V, et al.Use of a vaginal ring containing dapivirine for hiv-1 prevention in women.N Engl J Med. 2016;375(22):2121-2132.

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