MYDAWA, the first online pharmacy in Kenya, has received $1.2 million in funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and evaluate an innovative post-exposure prophylaxis, aka. PrEP.
The company says its new telehealth app enables end-to-end virtual health care for customers seeking access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, a drug given after potential exposure. with HIV and PrEP, used daily by people at ongoing risk. HIV infection.
“MYDAWA is here to be your partner throughout your PrEP journey. MYDAWA will assist with everything from your initial consultation to delivering PrEP to a place convenient to you! To start, just sign up for a consultation,” according to the e-pharmacy’s website. “Or if you’ve done Mylan or Sure Check HIVST – upload a picture of your HIVST results here to get started!”
About 38 million people around the world are living with HIV, with 21 million in East and South Africa, according to a recent Kenyan report. TECH magazine.
But the stigma associated with HIV has prevented many people from seeking care.
This is especially evident for vulnerable populations such as men who have sex with men and women who sell sex, the report said. “This challenging environment in addressing HIV has facilitated the search for an alternative approach to initiating PrEP through more discrete online channels.”
The new telehealth approach was developed in collaboration with several institutions, including the University of Washington, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Jhpiego and Audere .
The website provides practical information about PrEP, HIV self-testing kits, and instructions on how to get approved to buy drugs through teleconsultation on the MYDAWA platform.
With financial support, telehealth services have increased in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.
