Washington, D.C., February 25, 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched the course Combined HIV Prevention with Emphasis on Oral and Long-Acting Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), available on the PAHO Virtual Campus for Public Health. The course aims to strengthen the technical capacities of health personnel involved in the HIV response across the Americas.
The course is free, self-paced, and open to all interested participants, with no enrollment limits or closing dates. Registration is simple and requires creating an account on the platform. The course takes approximately 11 hours to complete and can be done at the participant’s own pace. Upon completion of the modules and exercises, and after passing the final exam, participants will receive an official PAHO certificate indicating the corresponding number of hours.
The program is designed to strengthen the technical competencies of health workers—including physicians, nurses, community outreach workers, students, and national HIV program teams—who serve populations at higher risk of infection. It introduces the foundations of combined HIV prevention and provides in-depth guidance on PrEP, both oral and long-acting, injectable formulations (such as lenacapavir, administered every six months), a key tool for improving adherence and expanding prevention options.
“PrEP is a highly effective tool for reducing new infections, and its uptake is key to making progress toward the elimination of HIV/AIDS as a public health problem,” said Dr. Hortencia Peralta, PAHO Regional Advisor on HIV and STI Prevention. “This course translates the latest evidence into practical tools so that health and community teams can deliver quality services, including early diagnosis, timely linkage to antiretroviral treatment, and prevention of advanced HIV disease.”
In the Americas, 38,000 lives are lost each year due to AIDS-related causes. In 2024, an estimated 4.2 million people in the Region were living with HIV. According to PAHO projections, expanding the combined use of oral and long-lasting PrEP could reduce new infections by more than 70% over the next four years. If this strategy is combined with expanded antiretroviral treatment, new infections in Latin America and the Caribbean could decline by more than 90% by 2030.
In the Region, advanced HIV disease continues to account for a significant proportion of new admissions to care services and AIDS-related deaths, highlighting persistent gaps in timely diagnosis and rapid linkage to treatment. This course provides concrete tools to prevent progression to advanced disease and reduce associated mortality.
Structured into nine thematic modules and a final wrap-up module, the course combines technical content, audiovisual materials, practical case studies, and self-assessment exercises.
The course is expected to help health workers in: understanding of the combination prevention approach; identifying strategies to expand testing and identifying individuals eligible for PrEP or PEP; safely administering and monitoring oral and injectable PrEP formulations; using programmatic indicators to track progress; and promoting early diagnosis and prevention of advanced HIV disease.
HIV/AIDS is one of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions that PAHO aims to eliminate by 2030 as part of its Disease Elimination Initiative.
