Thanks to support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project has delivered more than 327,000 bottles of PrEP (as of March 2021) to Zambia, making it readily available at health facilities countrywide and accessible to people like Jessy. The project has also procured antiretrovirals, rapid test kits, and laboratory commodities so that people like Isaac can continue to live healthy lives.
Jessy’s latest visit to the hospital resulted in taking home six months’ worth of PrEP, cutting down on the number of visits to the health facility that she has to make. “I am very happy about collecting medicine for six months; I will have more time to do other things,” Jessy said. Testing will now be done every three months to ensure she does not contract the virus.
“My husband and I take our medication at 6 every morning. This is easy for us, as we can remind and encourage each other when we take the medicine together. I would also like to encourage those who are in a similar situation…to persevere and adhere to taking medication because once you stop, then you are creating a problem for yourself. We thank the American government for making the medication available.”
Scaling up HIV prevention measures remain at the core of the prevention strategies in Zambia.
