A breakthrough for male contraceptives
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Today's episode was made possible by our friends over at Revo Fitness. Ready?
And good morning.
This is the Daily Oz.
This is the Daily Oz.
This is the Daily Oz.
Oh, now it makes sense.
Good morning and welcome to the Daily Oz. It's Tuesday the 29th of September. I'm Sam Kozlowski.
I'm Billie Fitzsimons.
Why has the WHO released its first blueprint for male contraceptives?
The World Health Organisation has released its first ever blueprint for male contraceptives, spelling out exactly what a safe, effective pill, gel or implant needs to look like. On today's podcast, Billy and I are going to unpack what's actually in the pipeline right now, including some really exciting trials happening here in Australia and why the WHO thinks new options could reach pharmacies within five to 10 years.
Sam, every time we cover male contraceptives,
our
audience cares so much. And I think it's because for the longest time, when it comes to contraception and medicine, the burden has been on women predominantly.
Yeah.
I'm thinking of the pill, the IUD. all of those kinds of things that a lot of women do every single day to avoid pregnancy. But now there is a lot of development when it comes to male contraception. And what I find particularly interesting about this and why I think it's worth us covering is because this is from the World Health Organization.
Yeah.
So tell us about what happened this week.
So I want to go back later with you, Billy, into recapping why there's such a discrepancy in the way that the science has developed in terms of male and female contraceptive. But yeah, let's start with what exactly happened this week. So the WHO, the world's peak health organization, It published its first ever target product profile or TPP for male contraceptives. And what that is, it's essentially a checklist that the WHO puts out saying that if a product was to make it to market, that it would endorse and want to roll out across the world through its various aid mechanisms and endorsements. here's the checklist of minimum standards and characteristics that such a product would need. And so this is actually the first time that WHO has done this specifically for male contraceptive.
And you're right in terms of there's a clear discrepancy in the amount of
Why is the world investing in new male birth control options?
pharmaceutical investment that's gone into male versus female contraceptives. Men have really only had condoms and vasectomies as the two main forms of contraceptives for decades. And a vasectomy is designed to be permanent. So besides really condoms, there's not anything out there for men to be able to use as active contraceptive. Now, 48% of pregnancies globally are unplanned. This is according to the WHO.
Really?
Yeah. That is
huge.
And 60% of those end in abortion. And so the WHO in setting out why it's important to have this target profile for what a good male contraceptive looks like, they kind of established the argument that this is still globally a problem that deserves the attention of both men and women in a relationship. Now, 30% of couples already rely on a male method being condoms or vasectomies. So it's not like there's not a willingness from men in relationships to use contraception. It's now just about ensuring that there's a pharmaceutical option
And I think this all comes in a particularly important time because what stands out to me when you say that 60% of those unplanned pregnancies end in abortion is that abortion is not legal everywhere
in
the
world.
So that's not an option for many, many women.
Absolutely. And we have to consider here the dynamics that exist in low and middle income countries, especially. And so the WHO did a survey across six low and middle income countries, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Vietnam amongst them. And they asked 15,000 men for their views on male contraceptives, including whether they would actually try them themselves. 61% said that they would try a new method within a year. In another WHO survey of the same low and middle income focus, 85% of women said that they would trust the partner to use a male contraceptive method. be it oral or a gel consistently. So some of those core arguments that are used against a male contraceptive in low and middle income countries, there's real enthusiasm for male contraceptives.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:26
2
Why has the WHO released its first blueprint for male contraceptives?
0:26–2:34
3
Why is the world investing in new male birth control options?
2:34–6:09
4
What standards should a safe and effective male contraceptive meet?
6:09–6:37
5
How do male contraceptive pills work, and what side effects are being studied?
6:37–10:25
6
How could sperm-blocking gels and other non-hormonal methods prevent pregnancy?
10:25–12:49
7
What are Australian researchers testing in reversible male contraception trials?
12:49–14:29
8
When could male contraceptives become available in pharmacies?
14:29–21:18