
WHY UPTAKE?

OUR
MISSION
UPTAKE seeks to inform universally accessible long-acting sexual and reproductive health technologies for African girls, young women, and female sex workers through behavioural science.
THE PROBLEM
Due to challenges in access and sustained adherence to proper use of existing HIV prevention products, such as condoms, voluntary medical male circumcision, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and treatment as prevention (TasP), the current HIV prevention toolkit continues to fall short in curbing HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and female sex workers (FSWs). In sub-Saharan Africa, AGYW aged 15-24 years are twice as likely to be living with HIV as men in the same age group.

LONG-ACTING ANTIRETROVIRAL BASED TECHNOLOGIES
Long-acting (LA) antiretroviral-based technologies represent a promising avenue for HIV prevention. Recent results from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) HPTN 083 study demonstrated LA injectable cabotegravir used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to be highly effective in preventing HIV acquisition in women in sub-Saharan Africa. Future LA antibody-based technologies are also being explored.
Several innovative LA-PrEP technologies and products in early development are poised to incorporate UPTAKE study results to ensure they are designed, developed, and delivered with the fewest barriers to access and greatest potential for adherence and impact.
