Family Planning Association: Health Minister short-sighted

■ Kim Boodram

kim.boodram@trinidadexpress.com

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has been slammed by the Family Planning Association (FPATT) for his remarks last week that Government will not introduce the HIV prevention drug, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), as it may encourage risky behaviour.

Deyalsingh's comments have hit a nerve with FPATT, which yesterday deemed the minister's stance to be 'short-sighted'.

'To suggest that the introduction of PrEP will encourage promiscuity is to take a very myopic view that can create a narrative implying that those who wish to use PrEP are unable to make rational decisions about what is best for them,' FPATT executive director, Dona Da Costa Martinez, stated in a media release yesterday.

Deyalsingh last week responded to a concern from UNAIDS regional director, Dr Cesar Nunez, that he had not seen much deployment of PrEP in the Caribbean and that more countries should include it their national HIV/Aids programmes.

PrEP is being regarded as essential in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS as it allows those who may be at high risk of exposure to reduce the chances of contraction.

Deyalsingh said the drug was available privately and that persons may knowingly engage in risky behaviour and may want to take the drug as a preventive measure. This was not Government policy he said, having stated in the past that the drug was not to be introduced under subsidy.

This position was not viewed favourably by FPATT and Da Costa Martinez stated at the end of the release: 'This only serves to give impetus to the perception of PrEP as a harmful practice encouraging promiscuity and irresponsible behaviour among its users rather than as a useful tool to prevent HIV. The statement is not only short-sighted but harmful as the deciding factor then becomes grounded in a moral debate about human sexuality, an integral part of who we are and what we do.'

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The FPATT, which opened its statement saying it viewed the remarks attributed to the minister 'with consternation', noted this country's commitment to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, including universal healthcare and said 'it is extremely critical that the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago can access the medicines they need, when and where they need them'.