Even as the Ministry of Health urges populations at risk of HIV/AIDS infections to use Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEPs) as one of the interventions to reduce new infections, health providers have appealed to the members of the public to use dual protection to avoid the surge in cases of other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
PrEP program officer at the National Syndemic and Diseases Control Council Johan Onentiah has said that the cases of STIs among people using the PrEP have increased in the country.
“PrEP alone is not sufficient, let us remember there are other STIs and pregnancy,” said Onentiah.
“With the use of PrEP there is also increase in other STIs, let’s remember PrEP is not a one bullet that will hit everything, there is a need to use combination of prevention.”
Onentiah said there is possibility that individuals using the PrEP are not using other interventions like condoms hence exposed to other STIs. He said dual protection remains an ideal for the prevention of new HIV infections and other STIs.
The program officer said people must embrace the use of condoms because it’s a better way to avoid all STIs and even teenage pregnancy.
Onentiah said there is also a need to target more youths and adolescents in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country as most of the new HIV infections are reported among the youths aged between 15-24 years.
Data shows that 41 percent of the new HIV cases reported in the country in the year 2022 were from the youths and adolescent aged 15-24 years.
