HIV prevention pill launched at Univen

Students and staff members of the University of Venda (Univen) will now have access to the HIV-prevention pill called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

This came after PrEP was recently launched during a ceremony at a packed Univen Sports Hall.

Speaking during the launch, senior lecturer in public health Dr Takalani Tshitangano said PrEP was the cure that would end HIV. "We should thank our government for this kind of innovation. The majority of people between the age of 15 and 24 are HIV positive in South Africa despite the availability of widely distributed condoms and health education," added Tshitangano.

"Our government has realised that lot of factors beyond people's control might be interplaying, putting many people at risk of contracting HIV. The government decided to try PrEP to protect all negative people at risk."

Univen is one of the seven universities nominated as pilot sites to determine the impact of PrEP on the problem of HIV. Other universities are Nelson Mandela University‚ Rhodes University‚ University of Limpopo‚ University of the Free State‚ University of Zululand and Vaal University of Technology.

Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) Provincial Coordinator Mr Moabelo Shibashiba said to upscale HIV prevention, HEAIDS, in partnership with the Department of Health, had started to roll out PrEP to 12 clinics at seven universities across the country. "PrEP is a preventive treatment in which people at very high risk of HIV infection take anti-HIV medicines daily to lower their chances of getting infected. PrEP is now a universally accepted prevention methodology. If taken daily, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%," Shibashiba added.

He warned students to make use of a combination of prevention methodologies by combining condom use with PrEP. "PrEP is not 100% effective and therefore not a silver bullet. Like any other anti-retroviral treatment, it must be taken consistently to be effective. PrEP should not be a substitute to our traditional HIV prevention strategies. It should be seen as an additional strategy to prevent people from acquiring HIV," he explained.

"PrEP may cause short-term side effects, including nausea, tiredness, gastrointestinal symptoms and headache. These are typically experienced by up to one in 10 people during the first few weeks on the drug only. However, these effects are not permanent," Mr Shibashiba said.

Mr Shibashiba said HEAIDS believed that PrEP would ensure that students graduate alive and prepare them to live a meaningful and healthy life after graduating.

The chief director of Vhembe District Health Services, Mr Robert Sirwali, said PrEP should be taken daily at more or less the same time as a family-planning pill. "When you start PrEP medication, it takes seven days to be protected from getting HIV, so you should wait," added Sirwali.

Mr Sirwali advised PrEP users to continue using condoms whenever they engage in sexual activity, as it does not prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. "The most important aspect to be remembered before starting PrEP is to test for HIV. When on the treatment, repeat the test after three months. PrEP reduces the risk of HIV before exposure," said Sirwali.