Finally: Free HIV Treatment Will Reportedly Start Being Given Out Next Year
Malta could finally be getting free preventive treatment against HIV next, nearly a decade after it was promised.
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela confirmed this with Times of Malta, saying “millions” in funds were allocated for the treatment in 2025 budget.
The life-saving medications – Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for Sexual Encounters (PEP or PEPSE) – is an emergency medication with a small time window taken by someone at risk of HIV transmission.
The drug has been credited for a drop in the rate of new HIV cases elsewhere in the world however, it has only been made available in local pharmacies. Since May 2019, generic PrEP is available at a number of pharmacies around the islands at a price of €56.70 for 30 tablets.
PEP, meanwhile, consists of three anti-HIV medications that need to be started within 72 hours after recent possible exposure to HIV but ideally within 24 hours of encounter. It’s taken for 28 days and it comes with side-effects, so it must be used as a last resort. It currently costs between €450 and €600.
During the 2017 election, the government pledged to improve the conditions for HIV patients and awareness in Malta.
They focussed on three main aspects, one of which was to make PEP free in Maltese hospitals. Prior to the 2021 general election, PL included this same promise, that PrEP and PEP would introduced into the government’s formulary, which means that they would be free from state clinics and Mater Dei.
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