Malawi health officials drum up PEP use

Malawi health officials have raised concern over the underutilisation of the post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) drugs in the country, leading to huge amounts of the drugs expiring on the shelf.

PEP drugs are used to reduce the probability of infection after a person has been accidentally exposed to the risk of HIV infection.

They are, however, effective if taken within 70 hours from the time of exposure. National AIDS Commission (NAC) anti-retroviral therapy policy officer, Dr Adrina Mwansambo said the drugs were expiring because the would-be beneficiaries were either not aware of them or were afraid of discrimination and stigma since an exposed person was required to go for an HIV test before administering the drug.

"While other would-be beneficiaries are not aware of the availability of this facility, those that are in the know, like health workers, are afraid of being stigmatised after being tested positive," she said, explaining that PEP treatment was administered after a person had tested HIV negative.

"The treatment is only offered to individuals who are negative otherwise positive ones are counseled on the next course of action towards anti-retroviral therapy," she said.

Mwansambo said PEP has a success rate of 80 percent. Concurring with Mwansambo, an HIV officer in the Ministry of Health and Population, Amon Nkhata said it was important to sensitise people on the availability and use of the drug.

"This is a very important drug for rescue operators, the police, and in fact anybody who feels has been exposed to the virus," he said, adding that it was dangerous for sex miscreants to take advantage of the drug as if it was a vaccine.

"Once somebody gets used to the drug, the body gets resistant and this resistance can be transferred to other sexual partners leading to another resistance to ARV altogether," he warned.

PEP drugs are purchased by government together with ARV drugs. While statistics show that there had been a rapid scale up in the establishment of ART delivery centres across the country, it had been noted that PEP drugs were underutilised Information on the percentages by which PEP drugs were expiring in heath facilities is scanty.

"It is difficult to get the exact national figures because there was not standardised system for recording data by various health facilities," said Mwansambo.

She, however, said there was progress in standardising the system. "Hopefully it will be in place by the end of the year," she said.