Wed 23 Mar 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A New Zealand men’s sexual health researcher has responded to the decision made by NHS England to not yet fund PrEP in the UK and says PrEP is one of the five critical actions for reversing the HIV epidemic here. “We don’t know the full basis behind NHS’s decision,” says Dr Peter Saxton, Director of the Gay Men’s Sexual Health research group at the University of Auckland. “One of the issues seems to be which agency is responsible for commissioning PrEP in the UK: the Department of Health, local authorities, the NHS or Public Health England? We’re waiting to hear more news.” In September Saxton highlighted the role of PrEP as one of five critical actions for reversing the HIV epidemic. “These include large scale condom use, more frequent HIV testing if you haven’t used condoms, immediate treatment for individuals newly HIV diagnosed, routine STI screening, and PrEP targeted to those most at risk of HIV acquisition,” he says. “Acting together these interventions can squeeze HIV transmission opportunities just enough to virtually eliminate HIV spread. “New Zealand is a small country. With commitment and cooperation we can achieve this.” The Gay Men’s Sexual Health research group is one of a number of groups including NZAF and Body Positive seeking support for a PrEP demonstration project in Auckland.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 23rd March 2016 - 9:52am