The province of Ciego de Ávila joined the national campaign, «Keep to Your Rhythm. PrEP, an Effective Option for Preventing HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)», an initiative that promotes the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as a novel tool in preventing this infection in Cuba.
Doctor Dennis Pérez Chacón, a member of the campaign’s national coordination team, explained that although it began in Havana and was planned for six provinces, the positive impact of the in-person launches motivated its extension to the entire national territory.
It is fortunate that Prosalud and the Ministry of Public Health did everything possible to mobilise the necessary resources so that it wasn’t only in Havana, but that it reached the beneficiary people, that they could physically handle the communication products, that they could exchange with us, expressed Pérez Chacón during her visit to the Avilanian territory.
Doctor Axel López Valdés, coordinator of the Cuban Network of People Living with HIV, detailed that PrEP is an antiretroviral medication aimed primarily at key populations, those in which, if new infections are reduced, the advance of the epidemic in the country could be halted.
Although, he explained that this medication is available for any person who wishes to prevent the infection.
According to the specialist, there are two usage modalities: the daily regimen, which involves taking one tablet for as long as the person considers themselves at risk, and the on-demand regimen, for those who plan their sexual relations, taking the medication 24 hours before and 48 hours after the encounter.
Óscar Martínez Ayala, municipal educator of the HIV programme in the municipality of Ciego de Ávila, highlighted that the fundamental objective of the campaign is the reduction of HIV in key populations, allowing people to be less exposed to risk and more protected.
For his part, Daniel Anta Rodríguez, provincial coordinator of the Cuban network of men who have sex with men (HSH-Cuba) and provincial educator of the sexually transmitted infections department, underlined the importance of this antiretroviral medication as a valuable tool in prevention.
The national coordinator emphasised the need to change perceptions about PrEP.
This antiviral treatment must be understood as when one takes a vitamin, which healthy people take to feel better; we must give it that push as something that is to improve our life and that adapts to what we do, how we live, how we want to, noted Pérez Chacón.
The campaign includes audiovisual capsules with cultural figures to reduce barriers related to gender stereotypes and HIV, content that is planned for dissemination in mass communication media like television.
Activities in each territory include an explanation about the organisation of the PrEP service, the presentation of the campaign, and community fairs where the population can directly engage with specialists and access information about this preventive service. (Author Damián Betanzos Hernández)
