The Sindh government has approved a highly effective oral drug to contain the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the province.
According to details, the drug is named ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’ (PrEP). It is taken to prevent contracting HIV and decreases the risk of contracting HIV by up to 99%.
Deputy Director General (DG) of Communicable Disease Control at Sindh Health Department, Dr. Ershad Kazmi, launched the medicine in an official ceremony held on Tuesday.
Sindh CDC has introduced the drug in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Addressing the launch event, Dr. Ershad said that between 2010 and 2020, HIV infections in the country increased by 84%. The exponential rise in HIV cases will not end until drastic measures are taken at the earliest, with the launch of PrEP being one of them.
Country representatives of UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP, and UNICEF lauded the Sindh government for taking the lead in containing the spread of HIV. They also stressed the need for achieving the targets of Sindh AIDS Strategy 2021-2025 for ending AIDS as a public health issue by the end of this decade.
