EVALUATING THE AWARENESS AND UPTAKE OF PRE- EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PrEP) AMONG THE YOUTHS IN LILONGWE URBAN- A CASE OF AREA 25 HEALTH CENTRE

The study was conducted in the city of Lilongwe in Malawi, specifically, in Area 25.The catchment area was the areas surrounding Area 25 Health Centre. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the awareness and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among the youths in Lilongwe Urban: a case of Area 25 Health Centre. A total of 100 interviews were conducted with the youths in the area using a questionnaire.Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. It was established that just 44% of the respondents are aware of PrEP. Based on the different perception questions that were asked, it was noted that some of the perceptions that the youths have over PrEP are actually not true; for example, taking of PrEP within 24 hours as the only period within which PrEP can be effective. However, most of the perceptions the youth have on PrEP are positive and encouraging. It has been found that 31% of the youths that are aware of PrEP (14% of the total sample) has ever used PrEP. Of these that have ever used PrEP, 42.9% of them (6% of the total sample) are still using PrEP. Lack of awareness, lack of access, inconvenient outlets and negative perceptions are some of the barriers to PrEP usage. Wide implementation of the PrEP communication strategy and making the PrEP easily accessible as well as ensuring privacy in the PrEP collection points will increase the uptake by the youths.