PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS PROGRAMME

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 22, 2022: The Health Department of the Government of Punjab, in partnership with the United Nations in Pakistan, launched the Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Programme (PrEP) in Lahore yesterday.

 

PrEP is considered a ‘game changer’ in the prevention of HIV. Even though it has been more than 10 years since the first evidence of the efficacy of daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was published, much of the PrEP scale-up is still highly concentrated in a small number of countries. Health Department, Government of Punjab in partnership with the United Nations in Pakistan, set a precedent in the country by launching community-based- PrEP for key populations and serodiscordant couples. PrEP does not replace condoms but offers an additional HIV prevention choice. Community-based PrEP dispensation is critical because CBOs working in Punjab have outreach programs and can play a pivotal role in creating awareness and ensuring stigma-free access to PrEP programs.

With support from UNAIDS along with WHO and UNDP, the Government of Pakistan developed guidelines and standard operating procedures for community and health facility-based dispensation of PrEP. The launch event was organized under the leadership of the Director General of Health Services of the Health Department Punjab in partnership with UNAIDS, UNDP, and WHO. Before the launch event, training was held with ART Centre staff from around the Punjab province on ensuring effective and evidence-based PrEP services.

Dr. Awias Gohar, Project Director PACP shared that between 2010 and 2020, Pakistan has seen an increase of 84% in new HIV infections and unless we take bold steps today, we will not be able to halt further new infections and PrEP is a step in the right direction. Addressing the participants, he further emphasized that “PrEP offers a significant strategic opportunity to precision target prevention programs for key populations. For the administering of PrEP to serodiscordant couples and key populations, formal linkages have been established between ART Centres and the outreach component of the current program. This approach utilizes outreach workers at the frontline to engage individuals who are at risk for HIV. Their main task is to connect members of the community to public health services so that they can be reached by HIV prevention programs that will now include PrEP. Outreach workers disseminate HIV prevention packages, provide safe sex education materials and support for behavior changes, and most importantly, refer the community for HIV testing and counseling and created linkages with ART treatment centers.”