HIV/AIDS: PrEP Not For Everybody – RIVSACA

Contrary to growing belief that Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) can be used by everybody, the Project Manager, Rivers State Agency for the Control of AIDS (RIVSACA), Dr. Naaziga Francis, says it is for only two categories of persons.
Fielding questions from The Tide in a recent interview, Dr. Francis explained that the two categories of persons are the Key Population in the HIV space, and the Vulnerable Population.
Those who constitute the Key Population, he said, “consists of a group of sub-sector group in the (HIV) population where we have men who have sex with men (homosexuals), we have sex workers (prostitutes, both male and female), people who inject (hard) drugs, the transgender population, and people in close setting (prison)”.
The vulnerable population, Dr. Francis said, are basically “young women, and those in discordancy relationships”.
Explaining discordancy relationships, he said, “in HIV discordancy relationships, we talk about a situation in which one of the couple is (HIV) positive, while the other is negative.
“The partner that is positive should be on Anterivi viral Therapy (ART), while the partner that is negative should embrace and be on PrEP.
“I want to make it categorically clear that PrEP is meant for persons that are HIV negative, but are in high risk sexual exposure, like in sero discordancy relationships and Key Population”, he emphasised.
The RIVSACA boss also used the opportunity to explain the use of the HIV self-testing kit, saying it has offered persons with special needs the opportunity to test themselves in the confines of their homes, at their convenience, and out of the glim of the public.
“There are persons who, by their lifestyles, are not comfortable coming to the general/public facilities: there are one or two things that could make them uncomfortable to access HIV services in public health facilities. The alternative is for them to get the self-testing kit in order to ascertain their status by themselves”, he said.
Francis, however, emphasized that if such self-testing turns out to be positive, the person must go to a government-owned health facility to have a confirmation test.

By: Sogbeba Dokubo