80, 000 get prophylaxis in one year
OVER80, 000 people have received pre-exposure prophylaxis medicine (PREP) within the space of one year which is an HIV prevention medicine that people who are not HIV positive take to reduce risk of getting effected once exposed to the virus
Ministry of Health national HIV treatment and care technical advisor Dr Suilanji Sivile disclosed that the uptake had improved since October 2019 to October this year and whose target has since been set to reach over 135,000 people in 2021.
Dr Sivile however said PREP was aimed at combating the spread of HIV new infections whose prevalence was still high especially in women and girls.
Dr Sivile said this during the Science media café in Lusaka under the theme: Virginia ring/Ema study prog
PREP is an HIV prevention method in which people who don’t have HIV take HIV medicine daily to reduce their risk of getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus.
ress.
He expressed concern over the increased number of HIV new cases among the women and adolescent in Zambia.
Dr Sivile called for more concerted intervention following the statistics population survey showing that more women were HIV positive than men.
Dr Sivile disclosed that in 2018, about 13.4 percent women were recorded as positive compared to men at 7.5 percent.
PREP is an HIV prevention method in which people who don't have HIV take HIV medicine daily to reduce their risk of getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus.