COLUMBIA — The Columbia City Council voted Monday to support a fund aimed at increasing HIV screening in mid-Missouri for patients who are at an elevated risk for the disease.
The fund of up to about $70,000 will expand coverage in neighboring rural counties with limited access. It will focus on increasing the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), the medication used to prevent HIV in higher risk individuals, and offer anonymous screenings.
"Unfortunately, there are not a lot of HIV providers, especially when it comes to mid-Missouri," MU Health Care immunologist Dima Dandachi said. "People really have a lot of barriers to care and access to care because they have to drive two or three hours to come to the university and have someone that would treat HIV."
Danadachi specializes in the treatment of HIV patients and is the medical director for the Columbia health department. She said another gap in care comes when rural residents don't want to see their normal providers — in order to stay anonymous.
"People are more at risk to get HIV in these rural communities, either due to lack of funding or lack of education," said Austin Krohn, a spokesperson for the Columbia health department. "So, this is huge to help us expand beyond the city of Columbia."
Krohn said there are testing options for people in the Columbia area. The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services offers walk in, anonymous testing as part of its programming.
"We do have all the means now to end the HIV epidemic," Danadachi said. "We could live in an era where we don't have HIV as an epidemic."
