Pregnant women are among those most in need of safe and effective preventives and treatments for HIV and its co-infections. Yet, because they are commonly excluded from research, they are among the least likely to have robust, timely evidence to inform decisions around the use of needed medications. The resulting evidence gaps have put pregnant women and their children in harm's way.

"Ending the evidence gap for pregnant women around HIV/co-infections: A call to action" provides immediately actionable guidance for advancing responsible HIV/co-infection research with pregnant women.

The Guidance was developed as part of the Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS: Seeking Equitable Study (PHASES) Project, a seven-year, NIH-funded effort. The Guidance represents the culmination of extensive research, including consultations with over 150 subject area experts from around the world, two international workshops, commissioned legal briefings, and a qualitative study with over 140 pregnant and recently pregnant women in the United States and Malawi.

Authored by a 26-member international and interdisciplinary Working Group, the Guidance provides ethics-centered recommendations to enhance equitable protection, access, and respect for pregnant women. The Working Group includes community advocates for women living with HIV as well as experts in bioethics, public health, law, obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine, pediatrics, HIV research, infectious disease, and pharmacology; with membership from Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.