Scotland has become the first part of the UK to make an HIV prevention drug available on the NHS.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which has been shown to reduce by more than 90% the chance of infection in people at high risk.

Pro-PrEP campaigners have praised the bold step. Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, HIV Scotland, Waverley Care and NAT (the National Aids Trust) welcomed the decision.

Public engagement

In a joint statement, the charities said: PrEP provides opportunities to reinvigorate how people at higher risk of HIV exposure engage with testing and prevention, and it is a vital opportunity to reduce the number of HIV transmissions.

Robert McKay, national director of the Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, said the decision would save the NHS 360,000 for