PrEP is only approved and widely available in a few countries around the world, but people are finding ways to access it on their own. The “PrEP in the Wild” survey is trying to learn more about people’s experiences around the world. The survey is still open, but some preliminary results were presented at the HIV Research for Prevention conference in Chicago earlier this week. Aidsmap has a report:

An increasing number of gay men and others at risk of HIV are seeking to protect their health with PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), but the lack of PrEP provision and lack of regulatory approval in many countries is leading people to take PrEP without medical supervision and on an ad-hoc basis. This will undermine the safety and effectiveness of PrEP, Jerome Galea said as he presented results of the PrEP in the Wild survey to the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P 2016) conference in Chicago yesterday.

“The official authorities are playing catch up and failing in their duty to protect public health,” commented the authors of a separate report on PrEP Access in Europe.

Have you used PrEP ‘in the wild’? We’d love to hear from you! If you’d be willing to share your story please get in touch with us.

You can reach us with a message to our Facebook page, or by email at act.up.dublin@gmail.com. We’ll keep your details private and will not make any identifying information public.