AIDS Councils join forces to call for PrEP treatment in Australia

To mark this World AIDS Day on December 1st, AIDS councils and organisations across Australia are demanding immediate access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis treatment (PrEP) in Australia.

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), The National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS councils across the country have joined forces to urge the government to make the ground-breaking treatment accessible.

This call echoes the words of Greens Senator Robert Simms and Labor MP Tim Watts, who both spoke yesterday in Parliament – urging the government to expedite the approval process.

Taken once daily in pill form, PrEP treatment can prevent HIV in people who would otherwise be in a high-risk situation. As yet, there are no recorded cases of a person becoming HIV positive while on daily PrEP treatment.

In 2014, Australian Health Ministers agreed to a goal of no HIV infections by the year 2020. AFAO believe the proven success of PrEP treatment in clinical trails shows that fast and easy access to the drug Truvada, currently the only medicine available for PrEP treatment, is critical in achieving this goal.

The AFAO and the coalition of AIDS councils are calling on Federal and State governments to urgently provide PrEP access programs now, and for the Turnbull government to fast track the approval of Truvada through Australian systems and the PBS.

For more information about PrEP treatments and HIV/AIDS in WA, visit the WA AIDS Council website.