HIV Ireland Wants PrEP to be Available For Everyone

Activists from HIV Ireland and the Gay health Network want to make PrEP available without a prescription under the Health Service Executive (HSE) finaciation. Now PrEP can be bought by people with medical insurance, they have to get a doctor’s prescription for PrEP and get the drugs in each pharmacy HSE has an agreement with. The estimated cost of a monthly PrEP course is about 400 Euro.

“There is still a major stigma in relation to HIV and a worry or a fear around getting tested. People are worried they will be diagnosed with HIV so they don’t get tested. When someone is diagnosed and treated for HIV they are less likely to infect other people; it’s people who don’t know they are living with HIV who are the risk factor,” - commented Niall Mulligan, Executive director of HIV Ireland.

HIV transmission in Ireland have increased by more than 30 percent for the last seven years. Some specialists note that social factors, such as migration, tourism, Apps for dating have played an important role in the spread of HIV, but of course these factors couldn’t be the only reasons to blame. By making PrEP more availible Ireland could protect the health of the population and join the community of countries, that have already started a realization of PrEP program.