The Terrence Higgins Trust says it is “an embarrassment” that it must fund access to pre-exposure prophylaxis for people in England and Northern Ireland who cannot access or afford the drug.
A leading HIV and sexual health charity has announced that it will launch a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access fund in autumn 2018 to support people in England and Northern Ireland who cannot access or afford the drug.
Announcing its plans at the 22nd Annual International AIDS Conference, the Terrence Higgins Trust said it intended to support up to 1,000 people on low or no income who can demonstrate their need for support to cover day-to-day expenses, subject to funding.
But Ian Green, the Trust’s chief executive, said it was “an embarrassment” that a charity was having to step in to fund PrEP access and that it demonstrated the “crucial need” for NHS England, local authorities in England, and Health and Social Care Northern Ireland to “act now”.
“People who are being denied access to PrEP and who are unable to afford it are being put at risk of contracting HIV, which is completely unacceptable,” said Green.
“There’s still so much work to do to enable us to end HIV transmission in the UK, and enabling all people to access PrEP is one of a number of tools that will allow us to do that.