WHO has made available the membership of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Guidelines Development Group for the development of Consolidated Guidelines on STI prevention and care.
These guidelines are being developed in phases and will include recommendations for primary prevention, management of asymptomatic STIs including screening strategies of populations at increased risk of STI, updated treatment recommendations for specific STIs, partner management, monitoring and evaluation, and service delivery. Previously developed guidelines on treatment of specific STIs, syphilis screening and treatment for pregnant women and management of symptomatic STI including syndromic approach (released in July 2021) and other guidelines, will be compiled in the Consolidated Guidelines.
The Global STIs Programme of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STIs Programmes is organizing series of virtual meetings, with the first planned for 14-17 November 2022. A meeting in February 2023 will follow.
The objectives of the November 2022 meeting are to:
- review the quality of evidence (GRADE profile) and finalize inputs into the benefits and harms, values and preferences and issues, including cost, use of resources, feasibility, equity, and acceptability;
- provide evidence-based recommendations for specific STIs treatment, syphilis self-testing and treponemal and non-treponemal syphilis testing and partner management/services; and
- discuss the framework for service delivery and screening strategies for the management of asymptomatic STIs to inform evidence synthesis and modelling, essential for making recommendations.
In line with WHO policy on conflict of interest, members of the public and interested organizations can access the biographies of the GDG members and inform WHO of their views about them. All comments should be sent by email to [email protected] by 10 November 2022.