Costas

‘I was one of the very first people in Ukraine to get on PrEP’

In Ukraine I was with an HIV charity organisation, and they started a small PrEP pilot project with 20 people. I got the pills for free, but had to take care of all the tests myself, and that’s quite expensive in Ukraine. I’ve been in the Netherlands for a little over a year now. Life wasn’t safe anymore for me as an LGBT activist. Transferring my PrEP care didn’t go very smoothly though. My GP in Hoogeveen told me I should just use condoms. In the end he agreed do to the tests, but he won’t give a prescription. Fortunately friends in Amsterdam are able to help me getting the pills. I was a drag activist already in Ukraine, and here I joined the House of Hopelezz. I like the political side of drag. Being on PrEP has definitely changed my sex life. I feel so much more free.