HIV prevention drug PrEP not available because stocks expired
NGO Checkpoint Malta says only option right now is to get the drug online
Updated 5pm with PN statement below.
A key HIV prevention pill is in short supply in Malta after local stocks of the drug expired this month, Times of Malta has confirmed.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a pill consisting of a combination of two drugs, which, when taken correctly by people who are not living with HIV, is very effective in the prevention of HIV.
Times of Malta contacted five pharmacies, including both large chains and smaller independent outlets. All said they either had no stock remaining or that their existing supply expired this month and could not be dispensed.
Sexual health advocacy and HIV awareness NGO Checkpoint Malta said it was first alerted to the problem just before Christmas. Since then, the number of people raising the alarm has increased.
“The government has pushed the free PrEP introduction again, so people can’t get it for free. And now they can’t even pay for it because there is no stock. Their only option is to get it online right now,” Checkpoint Malta president Marc Buhagiar said.
The government had previously pledged to make PrEP freely available. However, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela last year said a public tender for PrEP and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) would be issued in 2026, pushing back a commitment initially set for 2025.
A health ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta the government will follow on with its plans to start giving PrEP and PEP “by the first quarter of 2026” and in the meantime they will be “monitoring the situation”, adding the current supply issue was “up to local suppliers and pharmacies”.
When taken consistently, PrEP reduces the risk of sexual transmission of HIV by around 99 per cent and significantly lowers the risk for people who inject drugs. PEP is taken after a possible exposure to HIV, usually within 72 hours, for a 28-day period. It is around 80 per cent effective.
According to figures released in response to parliamentary questions, 721 people are currently living with HIV in Malta.
In 2023, the country recorded its highest per capita rate of new HIV diagnoses in over a decade. It also retained the highest rate in Europe for the second year running, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Individuals living with HIV in Malta benefit from state-funded treatment and clinical management, according to the recently launched National Sexual Health Strategy 2025-2030.
PN 'deeply concerned'
The Nationalist Party in a statement on Monday afternoon said it was deeply concerned that PrEP was now unavailable in Malta, even against payment.
"The government has not only failed to deliver on its promise of free PrEP, but has now allowed stocks to expire without replacement," the party said.
"At a time when Malta has one of the highest HIV transmission rates in Europe, this is a serious public health failure. HIV prevention cannot wait for Labour’s endless delays and broken promises."
It pointed out that last month, PN Leader Alex Borg reiterated the PN’s commitment to introduce free PrEP within the first year of a Nationalist Government.
The PN said it stood in solidarity with all those affected and it thanked organisations working tirelessly in HIV prevention and sexual health.