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  • Perspective
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PrEP rollout in Africa: status and opportunity

Nature Medicine volume 26, pages 655–664 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Following recommendations by the World Health Organization in 2015, and key clinical trials, countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), developed policies that incorporate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) into national HIV-prevention strategies. By the end of 2019, more than one third of people receiving PrEP globally were in Africa. Crucial understandings gained from early rollout among at-risk populations, such as HIV-serodiscordant couples, adolescent girls and young women, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men, include the importance of strategies for maintaining persistent adherence to PrEP and novel approaches to making PrEP services accessible, simplified and efficient. This Perspective will discuss the current status of these programs and how to further widen their implementation.

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Fig. 1: PrEP initiation in Africa.
Fig. 2: New HIV infections in Africa in 2018.
Fig. 3

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Acknowledgements

Supported by US National Institutes of Health under grants R01 MH095507 and P30 AI027757, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under grant OPP1056051.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

    Elizabeth M. Irungu

  2. Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Elizabeth M. Irungu & Jared M. Baeten

  3. Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jared M. Baeten

  4. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jared M. Baeten

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Correspondence to Jared M. Baeten.

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E.M.I. and J.M.B. have been part of studies with study drug donated by Gilead Sciences. J.M.B. has served as an advisor for Gilead Sciences, Merck and Janssen.

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Irungu, E.M., Baeten, J.M. PrEP rollout in Africa: status and opportunity. Nat Med 26, 655–664 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0872-x

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