Globally, 25 percent of new HIV cases occur among young women and adolescent girls in Africa. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, prevents infection when taken consistently, but stigma around the disease keeps some young women from maintaining usage, according to a new review by researchers at the University of Washington.

Results indicate that community and peer support, along with longer-lasting drug alternatives, will be essential to combating HIV infection in this population. “We need to find ways to deliver PrEP to women where they can feel comfortable that they’re not being judged based on their sexual behavior,” said lead author Connie Celum, a professor of global health and medicine and adjunct professor of epidemiology at the UW Schools of Public Health and Medicine.

Read the entire story at UW School of Public Health. Connie Celum, Professor of Global Health, is quoted in the story.