The Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) reported that there has been increased interest and dialogue about Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and its role in preventing HIV.

The MGRM said that PrEP is a way for people who do not have HIV, but who are at very high risk of getting HIV, to prevent the HIV infection by taking a pill every day.

The treatment has been a topic of concern for a number of activists working in the field, mainly given its price which currently stands at €56.70 for a box consisting of 30 tablets.

This is a hefty price for some of the people who could benefit most taking PrEP, such as students in full time education, the unemployed or those who do not have a regular income.

The statement by the MGRM read that “Rosianne Cutajar, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms, has pledged to work towards availability of PrEP, acknowledging the importance of the treatment in the fight against HIV.”

“Opposition Leader Adrian Delia has made a similar statement, calling for PrEP to be made available for free to LGBT+ people. Other members of both government and opposition have made similar statements in the past.”

Following all these statement and studies, there is scope for research and studies to establish how to best execute all the options available to the health authorities, the MGRM said. “This includes information on PrEP rollouts which is something Health Minister Chris Fearne committed himself to introducing in an online interview with MGRM in December 2019.”

MGRM acknowledged that these rollouts have been highly criticised in the United Kingdom, as Dr Mark Josef Rapa – founder of PrEPing Malta – had told The Malta Independent.  “It (PrEP rollout) would be similar to the heavily criticised roll out programme we have in England. Here, sexual health clinics can only afford to provide PrEP to X number of people on a first-come-first-served basis. Those who were not quick enough to register their interest had to purchase it online,” Rapa had said.

MGRM said that they make this acknowledgement while being the first to admit that its own questions during the online interview with Fearne centred around HIV Trials (PrEP rollouts), thus leading towards answers specifically relating to them.

With this in mind, the MGRM highlighted the importance of education campaigns in order to address certain misconceptions and ensure that full and correct information about HIV testing and prevention is issued.

“HIV is a virus that does not discriminate. This calls for a wider discussion into who needs the medication, not looking at sexuality or gender, but at who needs the treatment and why. We take this opportunity to state that we no longer receive statistics that allows us to say with certainty which group is most at risk in Malta, and have to rely on statistics from abroad, and unofficial sources, in order to focus our work.”

Having said this, MGRM reiterated the importance of making all HIV medication more accessible, not least PEP, which currently carries a price tag of €600 and if not taken within 72 hours of an encounter with HIV, may lead to seroconversion. 

In its concluding statement, the MGRM said that it looks forward to “carrying out more dialogue with all stakeholders including the relevant authorities in order to reach the resolutions needed to lead to a drop in rates akin to those in Australia and in London, whilst embarking on the much needed education campaign soon.”

Rapa themselves also acknowledged this increase in dialogue through a post on the Facebook page of PrEPing Malta.

They said that, with the statement the Opposition leader made yesterday, Delia was indirectly showing support to the introduction of PrEP on the national health services.

However, he warned that “PrEP and healthcare at large should not be used as a tactic or lament against government policies. Healthcare, access to medication and civil rights should not be politicised.”

They added that PrEP will be beneficial for heterosexual individuals that engage in high risk sex as HIV does not discriminate, and PrEP should be available for free to whoever qualifies for it. “We have enough internationally endorsed protocols to rely on.”