The World Health Organisation has added HIV-preventing drugs to its Essential Medicines List, in the strongest backing yet for the use of PrEP.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drug Truvada can drastically reduce people’s chances of being infected with HIV, and is available in a number of countries to at-risk groups including men who have sex with men, sex workers and people in serodiscordant relationships. The drug regime, which HIV experts say could be an invaluable tool for tackling HIV infections, won a strong vote of confidence from the World Health Organisation.

The WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) is used by many countries to increase access to medicines and guide decisions about which products they ensure are available for their populations. The listing may speed up the process of making PrEP available to at-risk groups. Many countries have been slow in adopting the new HIV-prevention method, citing issues with the cost – though even a small reduction in HIV transmissions saves money in the long term. Read more via Pink News