THE introduction of the injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, Cabotegravir LongActing (CAB-LA), adds to the available cocktail of HIV prevention drugs.
This latest addition to the family of HIV prevention drugs is indeed welcome as it brings with it some advantages over the existing ones.
Just like oral (PrEP), the jab is able to protect one from being infected with HIV in the event that they have unprotected sex with an infected person or are exposed to the virus in any other way.
Oral PrEP comes in form of tablets that have to be taken daily around the same time. They have to be taken seven days before engaging in unprotected sex or indeed in any other risky activity. Two tablets taken two hours before exposure also helps prevent HIV transmission.
For people who don’t like swallowing pills; the injectable PrEP is ideal. The jab is also convenient for busy people as it remains potent in the body for two months once administered unlike the oral one which is given for a month (tablets that last for one month) and needs to be replenished.
As University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) Adult Infectious Diseases Centre director of clinical services Duncan Chanda said, the first dose of the Cabotegravir drug is given on day zero and the second dose after four weeks. Thereafter, the drug is given every eight weeks.
Given the advantages of the injectable PrEP, we are somewhat disappointed with the low uptake of this crucial drug by members of the public.
Since February 10, 2024 when the United States government donated 14,850 vials of the injectable PrEP, only 16 people have taken the jab as of Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Dr Chanda revealed that three more were expected to take the jab over the weekend bringing the total to 19.
We are disturbed by the reluctance by members of the public to take the injectable PrEP despite HIV infections being relatively high in the country.
According to UNAIDS, Zambia currently has over 1.3 million people living with HIV-AIDS out of a population of slightly over 20 million people.
The 2021 Zambia population-based HIV-AIDS impact assessment survey conducted among individuals 15 years and above revealed that 28,000 new HIV infections are recorded in the country every year.
The survey also indicates that the prevalence of HIV infections among adults aged 15 and above was 11 percent, while among women and men was 13.9 percent and 8.0 percent respectively.
With these numbers, which keep on rising, we wonder why people are this reluctant to get the injectable PrEP, especially those that are at high risk such as female sex workers, discordant couples, truck drivers and teenagers.
Women sometimes find themselves in relationships where they are unable to negotiate for safe sex and end up being accordingly exposed to HIV. The injectable PrEP gives back control to such women to avoid getting HIV. The same can be said about female teenagers who unfortunately are becoming sexually active at very young ages.
As for men, the perception that condoms take away the pleasure of sex has resulted in most of them resorting to unprotected sex.
This has resulted in an upsurge of HIV infections, especially because most people don’t stick to one sexual partner. The injectable PrEP comes in handy as a safeguard measure for such men.
Our advice, therefore, to anyone at risk of acquiring the HIV virus is ‘get PrEP, it will protect you’.
HIV-AIDS has been a great cost to human health and the world’s treasury. Many lives have been lost to AIDS.
It goes without saying that PrEP remains one of the best HIV prevention methods against the disease.
Let us all embrace the injectable PrEP and other HIV prevention methods and contribute to the good health of the country and the world at large.
Low uptake of injectable PrEP worrying
THE introduction of the injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, Cabotegravir LongActing (CAB-LA), adds to the available cocktail of HIV prevention drugs.
This latest addition to the family of HIV prevention drugs is indeed welcome as it brings with it some advantages over the existing ones.
Just like oral (PrEP), the jab is able to protect one from being infected with HIV in the event that they have unprotected sex with an infected person or are exposed to the virus in any other way.
Oral PrEP comes in form of tablets that have to be taken daily around the same time. They have to be taken seven days before engaging in unprotected sex or indeed in any other risky activity. Two tablets taken two hours before exposure also helps prevent HIV transmission.
For people who don’t like swallowing pills; the injectable PrEP is ideal. The jab is also convenient for busy people as it remains potent in the body for two months once administered unlike the oral one which is given for a month (tablets that last for one month) and needs to be replenished.
As University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) Adult Infectious Diseases Centre director of clinical services Duncan Chanda said, the first dose of the Cabotegravir drug is given on day zero and the second dose after four weeks. Thereafter, the drug is given every eight weeks.
Given the advantages of the injectable PrEP, we are somewhat disappointed with the low uptake of this crucial drug by members of the public.
Since February 10, 2024 when the United States government donated 14,850 vials of the injectable PrEP, only 16 people have taken the jab as of Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Dr Chanda revealed that three more were expected to take the jab over the weekend bringing the total to 19.
We are disturbed by the reluctance by members of the public to take the injectable PrEP despite HIV infections being relatively high in the country.
According to UNAIDS, Zambia currently has over 1.3 million people living with HIV-AIDS out of a population of slightly over 20 million people.
The 2021 Zambia population-based HIV-AIDS impact assessment survey conducted among individuals 15 years and above revealed that 28,000 new HIV infections are recorded in the country every year.
The survey also indicates that the prevalence of HIV infections among adults aged 15 and above was 11 percent, while among women and men was 13.9 percent and 8.0 percent respectively.
With these numbers, which keep on rising, we wonder why people are this reluctant to get the injectable PrEP, especially those that are at high risk such as female sex workers, discordant couples, truck drivers and teenagers.
Women sometimes find themselves in relationships where they are unable to negotiate for safe sex and end up being accordingly exposed to HIV. The injectable PrEP gives back control to such women to avoid getting HIV. The same can be said about female teenagers who unfortunately are becoming sexually active at very young ages.
As for men, the perception that condoms take away the pleasure of sex has resulted in most of them resorting to unprotected sex.
This has resulted in an upsurge of HIV infections, especially because most people don’t stick to one sexual partner. The injectable PrEP comes in handy as a safeguard measure for such men.
Our advice, therefore, to anyone at risk of acquiring the HIV virus is ‘get PrEP, it will protect you’.
HIV-AIDS has been a great cost to human health and the world’s treasury. Many lives have been lost to AIDS.
It goes without saying that PrEP remains one of the best HIV prevention methods against the disease.
Let us all embrace the injectable PrEP and other HIV prevention methods and contribute to the good health of the country and the world at large.