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PrEP Use High Among Young African Girls But Fades After Three Months- Study

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 Healthtimes

IN a study of open-label Truvada as daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among 427 young African women and adolescent girls, 95% initiated the HIV prevention strategy, and most used PrEP for the first three months. However, PrEP use fell among participants in this critical population during a year of follow-up clinic visits, although HIV incidence at 12 months was low. The preliminary results suggest that tailored, evidence-based adherence support strategies may be needed to durably engage young African women in consistent PrEP use. The study, known as HPTN…

11 800 Zimbabweans On PrEP

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Healthtimes

OVER 11 800 Zimbabweans have been initiated on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as of last month, an AVAC fellow said on Monday. By Kudakwashe Pembere Addressing an International AIDS Society Harare Scientific Symposium, AVAC Fellow-cum-Pangaea Aids Zimbabwe Trust coordinator Definate Nhamo said the number was huge. “As of May 2019, we have about 11 800 who have been initiated on on PrEP,” she said. Following the youths demand of PrEP, she said PrEP was only distributed to certain populations perceived to be at risk of contracting HIV. “So in Zimbabwe we started…

Over 8 000 Zimbabweans on PrEP

March 5, 2019June 14, 2019 Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE has to date managed to initiate over 8 000 people on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) since commencement of the project in 2016, a government official said on Thursday. By Kudakwashe Pembere Currently administered in the form of tablets, PrEP has been studied to be effective in the protection of HIV negative people against the disease. Since adoption of PrEP as a preventive measure against STIs in Zimbabwe in 2016, about 8 482 people have been initiated. Ministry of Health and Childcare National HIV Prevention Coordinator Ms Getrude Ncube told…

Zim Launches Prep Strategy…Program targets key populations

June 16, 2018June 22, 2018 Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE has launched Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) strategy for 2018 up to 2020 which is aimed at scaling up uptake of the PrEP drug amongst key populations and those at high risk of contracting HIV. By Michael Gwarisa Launching the strategy document, Health and Child Care minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa said Zimbabwe still faced a huge HIV challenge as it is still recording incidence around 32 000 people every year hence the need to increase prevention mechanisms. “Now I am proud to emphasise that we have successfully managed to reduce…

House Maid jailed for trying to infect boss’ child with HIV/Aids

January 27, 2018January 27, 2018 Healthtimes

Kampala, Uganda | A housemaid was sentenced to three years imprisonment on Wednesday for attempting to infect her boss’s two-year-old baby with HIV/AIDS. GODFREY SSALI Jemima Nasifa alias Tumukunde Zainabu a Rwandan, pleaded guilty to the offence of doing a negligent act likely to spread infection or disease, before Kampala’s City Hall Court, Grade One magistrate Beatrice Kainza. This after she had spent six months on remand at Luzira prison. The Magistrate on Wednesday convicted her on her own plea of guilt and added her three more years back to jail.…

Initiate Every Prisoner On Prep Upon Sentencing

November 7, 2017 Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa THERE is a raging debate on whether prisoners should be allowed access to condoms during their incarceration period in order to prevent HIV transmission in among prison inmates. According to statistics, male prisons have an HIV prevalence rate of about 24 percent of which much of the infection is believed to be happening during their tenure in prisons as a result of sodomy activities. During a Parliamentary HIV awareness meeting in Kariba recently, elders and parliamentarians argued along the lines of having condoms distributed in prisons or…