PrEP is unaffordable for sex workers and migrants in the UK

Indian generics for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP, is a way for people who do not have HIV but who have significant risk of getting it to prevent HIV infection by taking a pill every day), cost about 40 GBP (45-50 euros) per month, said Tom Hayes, editor-in-chief of an online lifestyle magazine Beyondpositive, in the interview to Life4Me+ during the 16th European conference on AIDS, which was held in Milan. The conference was focused on PrEP: accessibility, promotion in European countries, studies on the effectiveness and other aspects.

"In London, Indian generics are available, it cost about 40 pounds per month," he said. "Normally the drugs are ordered online, it's legal. Some websites are offering PrEP, you can legally buy it and the recipe isn't required." He noted that generic PrEP is affordable for white gay men, but not for people from high-risk groups, like sex workers and migrants.

Hayes said that people learn about PrEP from socially oriented media, like Prepster website, where you can find information about PrEP, trial results and also about where to find this drug. Information is also distributed in the social media and on billboards, where people can find information about sexual health clinics implementing PrEP.

In mid-October a huge trial on the the effectiveness of PrEP was launched in England. 70 sexual health clinics joined the project, and by the April 2018 the list of clinics should be expanded to 130. The researchers are planning to involve in the project at least 10,000 people during next three years.