GET PrEP!

After all, it is said that prevention is better than cure and you would agree with me that the surest way not to get the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is by not contracting the virus in the first place. Or simply put, preventing an infection.

_{AIDS Awareness Ribbon. Image by NIAID CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons}
While the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set aside the 1st of December as the World AIDS Day, an international day set aside to inform the public about the AIDs pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. However, the HIV prevention day has not been recognised officially and may not receive the attention it deserves.

Earlier on Tuesday, some "health activist" took to Twitter to raise awareness for the prevention of HIV with the hashtag #HIVPreventionDay. The first of it's kind, this, if taken seriously, would go a long way to reduce the incidence of new HIV infections.

Despite giant strides taken to combat the scourge, results for the war against the virus aren't going as expected and it is believed that current global efforts may not be adequate to control the spread of the pandemic or extend the life of a majority of those infected. This goal, not being achieved may not be unconnected to lack of coverage and access to preventative service.

While preventative strategies such as abstinence (not having sex), being faithful or limiting the number of sexual partners, not sharing needles, getting tested and proper use of condoms during sex have done their in the prevention of HIV prevention, a greater deal of reduction could be achieved by using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

_{A giant condom installed to create awareness. Image by Grazzamatic - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons}

PrEP is when people at very high risk for HIV take HIV medicines daily to lower their chances of getting infected. PrEP can stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout a patient's body. It has been proven to be up to 99% effective at preventing HIV infection when used as prescribed. The only available PrEP is Truvada™ (a combination of Emtricitabine and Tenofovir)

_{A flask of Truvada™ by Fersolieslava GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons}

People who need this drug in the USA are, however, not finding it funny, because the company that makes this drug, Gilead Sciences, charges a mammoth $1600 for a month's regimen while it costs about $6 in other countries. To make matters worse, Gilead Sciences has a patent on the drug and reserves monopoly rights (this makes it the only company that can produce this drug).

There would have been total chaos in third world countries if the cost of this drug is the same as that of the USA. The WHO and allied bodies are working effortlessly to make this drug affordable and accessible in developing countries. In Nigeria, where I live, the major problem lies in the processes/activities involved in making sure those who need the drug actually gets it. You may want to say stigma and illiteracy/ignorance are factors hindering access to PrEP. That asides, the drugs are totally free! A big thank you to everybody that has made this possible. A friend's (medical personnel) life was saved by this drug, thanks to the fact that the drug is free.

The 17th of July was the first ever HIV prevention Day and these courageous health activists are signing a petition to break the patent and lower the price of PrEP. This seemingly small-scale activism could lead to a ground-breaking milestone in the total eradication of HIV/AIDs.

_{Images from the first ever HIV Prevention Day. Courtesy of Jason Rosenberg}

Easy access to vaccines is a major factor that solved the problem with polio, I believe, the same can be done for HIV. Yes we can!