The HIV epidemic has shifted to being transmitted mainly through sexual contact, and homosexuals are considered the main risk group today. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the optimal ‘weapon’ that contributes to limiting HIV infection.
In Thanh Hoa, from the first case discovered in Dong Son district in November 1995 to August 31, 2023, the cumulative number of people infected with HIV/AIDS is 9,073 people, of which nearly 3,000 people have died. Currently, the province has 4,111 HIV patients being treated.
Regarding infection trends, currently it is mainly through unsafe sex and focuses on men who have sex with men (MSM).
The effectiveness of the PrEP implementation program
Faced with the above situation, in 2020, we are sponsored by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (QTC) Project, with the direction of the Leadership of the Project Management Board of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS. AIDS in Thanh Hoa province, the financial and professional support of the Central Global Fund for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control project, along with the focused and right direction of the Leaders of the Center for Disease Control of Thanh Hoa province , after more than 3 years of implementing HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has achieved some remarkable results.
In March 2020, starting with the determination and efforts of the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control of the Center for Disease Control of Thanh Hoa province, related departments and 25 CBO peer group members ( community-based organization), in collaboration with 3 private clinics in the city. Thanh Hoa, synchronously deploys activities such as: Outreach, group communication, testing, introduction and recruitment of customers at high risk of HIV infection to register to participate in the PrEP treatment program .
The PrEP treatment program implemented in Thanh Hoa meets the urgency of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in recent years, when the form of HIV infection has changed drastically from HIV infection through blood to HIV infection. through unsafe sex, especially the number of newly discovered HIV infections each year is increasing rapidly among MSM: The rate of HIV transmission among MSM in 2019 accounted for 7.3 % (13/177 infections). new HIV); 2020: 21.4% (46/214 new HIV infections); in 2021: 26% (48/185 new HIV infections) and in 2022, 35% (65/186 new HIV infections).
After more than 3 years of implementing PrEP treatment, as of September 15, 2023 in Thanh Hoa province, there were 7 PrEP clinics and treatment facilities, including 03 state-owned medical facilities, 04 medical facilities. private. The number of customers receiving PrEP services at least once is: 1,989 people; Of which the number of customers belonging to the MSM group accounts for 88.4%. This has contributed significantly to controlling the increase in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thanh Hoa in recent times.
The rate of customers continuing maintenance treatment after 3 months or more always reaches over 80% (National retention rate is more than 70%). The number of customers receiving PrEP treatment has gradually increased over the years, in 2020 (193 customers), 2021 (516 customers), 2022 (1,251 customers) and by September 2023 (1,989 customers), showing that the program PrEP treatment in Thanh Hoa is really effective.
Solutions to overcome difficulties
However, the implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Thanh Hoa is also facing certain difficulties. Due to the large area of the province, travel, access, and communication are still difficult, especially in some mountainous districts of the province. In addition, discrimination against the MSM group is also an obstacle when accessing the program.
To overcome the above difficulties, preventive intervention activities have been synchronously deployed within the peer educator group: Increase the number of peer educators, enhance communication on behavior change through social networks and media. groups via dating applications (Blued), small group communication; Develop a plan to expand (increase facilities) to diversify PrEP treatment service providers (public clinics and private clinics) to ensure suitability for customer groups, in order to attract more and more people. Many people at high risk of HIV infection access services, contributing to reducing HIV infection in the community
MSc. Le Truong Son, Deputy Director in charge of the Center for Disease Control of Thanh Hoa province, said: “The HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program in Thanh Hoa has created new changes and nuances on the face of HIV/AIDS prevention and control of Thanh Hoa province in particular and the country in general, meeting the expectations and trust of the community, especially the MSM community.
The HIV/AIDS prevention and control program in Thanh Hoa is determined to continue promoting intervention activities to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission, community outreach, and HIV testing; Care and treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and PrEP treatment – these will be solutions to help Thanh Hoa effectively implement the 95-95-95 goal towards ending the AIDS epidemic by year 2030″.
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis – pre-exposure prophylaxis, for individuals who have not been infected with HIV (HIV negative) and are at high risk of HIV infection. PrEP helps prevent HIV infection in the body by preventing the development of biological catalysts (enzymes) that HIV uses to create new virus copies. PrEP is a combination of two antiviral medications, tenoforvir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) 300 and emtricitabine (FTC) 200 mg in one tablet with a dose of one tablet per day.
PrEP has been proven to be very effective in the following groups: Men who have sex with men (MSM); transgender women (TGW); women who sell sex; drug users; heteroinfected couples, that is, one person is infected and one person is not infected with HIV, in which the HIV-infected person has not been on ARV treatment or has been on ARV treatment for less than 6 months, or has been on ARV treatment for more than 6 months but for some reason. but the HIV load does not reach below the threshold of 200 copies/ml…
Elnora Vandervort