DOUBLE Happiness is the new campaign to promote the Treatment as prevention (TasP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the fight against HIV.
The Victorian PrEP Accord launched the Double Happiness Campaign with Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy yesterday.
The campaign uses Chinese symbolism for ‘double happiness’ to promote the union of the two complementary strategies working together: the use of anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV to reduce the HIV viral load to an ‘undetectable’ level (TasP), and the use of anti-retroviral drugs taken by HIV negative person to prevent HIV transmission (PrEP).
At present, the drug Truvada has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for PrEP use, however it has not yet been listed on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
“I – along with all Australian health ministers – am committed to the goal of the virtual elimination of new HIV transmissions by 2020,” said Minister Hennessy.
Phillip Joffe chair of PrEPaccessNOW said while progress has been made in the reduction of new HIV transmission, it’s not enough.
“The quick access and availability of this drug (PrEP) is imperative to the health and wellbeing of Australians at risk for HIV.”