We need new strategies to reduce the increasing rates of HIV infection among gay and bi men and transwomen. Ending the AIDS epidemic will require a combination of HIV prevention strategies that expands beyond what we’re already doing. The best long-term hope for controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, an HIV vaccine, is still probably years away.

PrEP trials have happened or are happening in Africa, Asia, South America, and North America. They include different people who may be exposed to HIV through unprotected anal and vaginal sex and sharing injection needles. The hope is when all the scientific evidence from these trials is put together, we will get a better picture of how well (or not well, depending on results) PrEP works.

The million-dollar question is how will PrEP work in the real world? We know people behave differently in clinical trials than they do in their regular, daily lives. San Francisco is set to become one of the first cities to conduct a PrEP demonstration project to help figure out whether people will be interested in taking PrEP and evaluate the feasibility of offering PrEP at an STI clinic.This PrEP demonstration project is being funded by the National Institutes of Health and will be locally implemented by San Francisco Department of Public Health at San Francisco City Clinic.

This project is a collaboration among San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Project Inform, Be The Generation and other local health agencies, and community-based providers.