Private health care professionals reacted today to a decision preventing them from providing free medication used to prevent HIV infection.
After a Health Ministry decree that private clinics may no longer give away supplies of so-called PrEP and PEP drugs went into effect today, the head of chief AIDS prevention at the Thai Red Cross said it created a needless barrier for patients.
“It’s clearly a health rights violation that bars people from accessing health care services,” said Nittaya Phanuphak Pungpapong, who heads AIDS prevention efforts for the Thai Red Cross Society. “This makes the goal to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 go off track.”
PrEP, aka pre-exposure prophylaxis, is highly effective at reducing the chance of contracting HIV from sex or drug use. PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, is effective at preventing the disease after exposure.
The decision…
