Evidence brief: The EMPOWER study: an evaluation of a combination HIV intervention that includes oral PrEP for adolescent girls and young women in South Africa and Tanzania (findings from Tanzania)

EMPOWER brief_Tanzania.pdf

This brief reports on the findings from the EMPOWER study in Tanzania. The study, which was also conducted in South Africa, aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability and safety of offering oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as part of a combination HIV prevention package addressing gender-based violence (GBV) and stigma in adolescent girls and young women.

The impact of empowerment clubs, incorporating a four- session empowerment curriculum, on retention in care and adherence to PrEP, was also assessed.

Findings in Tanzania:

  • Risk factors for HIV were highly prevalent among women taking part in the study.
  • High uptake of oral PrEP suggests a desire for HIV prevention options that can be controlled by women.
  • Participation in HIV prevention support services was challenging for women taking part in the study.

Conclusion

The high prevalence of risk factors for HIV observed has been reported in other studies of similar populations in Tanzania. Oral PrEP for HIV prevention is not currently licenced for use in Tanzania. However, the government has set up a technical working group to assimilate evidence from the studies and the findings will be shared with this group. 

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