More than 80 HIV/AIDS health organizations, including AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), announced their support for new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that recommend use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) as one prevention option for adults “at substantial risk of HIV acquisition.”
PrEP is a once-a-day regimen of anti-HIV medication, Truvada, that has been proven to reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 90 percent if taken consistently and correctly.
“These new PrEP guidelines will be immensely helpful in the smart, strategic implementation of PrEP in our communities where HIV hits the hardest,” said Jim Pickett, director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC). “They will help us improve education and awareness of PrEP at the community level, and, critically, at the clinician level.”
With the help of Pickett and other staff members, AFC works to increase awareness of and access to PrEP. AFC’s Project Ready. Set. PrEP! training program educates the Illinois HIV workforce on PrEP essentials, and the My PrEP Experience blog offers PrEP users a platform to share their stories and provides links to a wealth of PrEP informational resources, like the new CDC guidance.
