The World Health Organisation recently released “oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) module for adolescents and young people. The module (http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/273172/WHO-CDS-HIV-18.13-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) is intended to complement the 11 other modules that are part of the WHO PrEP tool. It addresses unique aspects and considerations for delivering HIV prevention and care services to sexually mature adolescents and young adults – typically, people ages 15–24 years. The intended audience for this module is the range of stakeholders for other modules in this WHO PrEP tool who may also have interest in or provide services to at-risk populations of vulnerable young people, including those from five key populations (men who have sex with men, people in prisons and closed settings, people who use drugs, people who sell sex and transgender people).
Why Adolescents and Young People
According to WHO, each day, 37% of the approximately 4,500 daily new HIV infections occurring, are among youth ages 15 to 24 years. Adolescent girls and young women make up approximately one in every five of these new infections, and in sub-Saharan Africa where the youth population has expanded by nearly 100 million over the past three decades, infection rates in adolescent girls and young women outpace those in their male counterparts by three. This calls for more ways to address the epidemic of which PrEP is included.
The module talks about ways to make PrEP practical, accessible and impactful. Some of the suggestions given to ensure these include creating demand for PrEP, enabling access to PrEP, training services providers and counselling young people on risk reduction.
