SASOD, private clinic launch PrEP service to curb HIV infections

Representatives from Midway Specialty Care Centre and SASOD during the launch of the PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) service yesterday. From left are Dr Ruth Ramos-Gonzalez, Nurse Lois Barrow and Managing Director of SASOD Joel Simpson. (Photo by Orlando Charles)

To mark World AIDS Day, which was observed on Sunday, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in partnership with newly established private clinic Midway Specialty Care Centre yesterday launched the Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) service to stop new HIV infections in Guyana.

The civil society-private sector partnership between the two entities was formalised yesterday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a launch at the Midway Specialty Care Centre at Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

PrEP is an HIV prevention approach where HIV-negative individuals use anti-HIV medication to reduce their risk of becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus. It can stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout the body.