Georgia was the first country in its region to roll out PrEP for gay and bisexual men, and it remains one of the real strengths of the system here. The consultation, the monitoring bloodwork, and the medication are all free — funded through the state HIV programme and delivered by Equality Movement together with the AIDS Center. You enrol under an anonymous code, not your name. For how PrEP actually works — daily versus on-demand — use the general mechanics guide linked below. This page is how you get it here.

✅ Who Can Get It

PrEP here is for HIV-negative men at higher risk of HIV. You qualify if, in the last six months, any of these applied: condomless anal sex (receptive or insertive), five or more partners, a recent STI, sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a positive partner not yet virally suppressed, sex work, injecting drug use, or a previous course of PEP.

You will complete a short risk-assessment questionnaire and take a rapid HIV test on the spot; if you meet the criteria you can start.

PrEP is not suitable if you have chronic hepatitis B, because the same drug is used to treat it and stopping PrEP could flare the hepatitis. Tell the clinician — they will handle it as treatment, not prevention. Your kidney function and hepatitis B status are checked at baseline for exactly this reason.

🚪 The Pathway

The whole thing runs through Equality Movement, and it is fast — no GP referral, no mainstream health system involved.

  1. Book or walk in — Equality Movement, Ia Kargareteli Street #2, Tbilisi. Tel 032 247 97 48, Mon–Fri 12:00–19:00. They also take online bookings.
  2. Risk questionnaire + rapid HIV test on arrival.
  3. Baseline bloodwork — HIV confirmation, kidney function, hepatitis B, and an STI check.
  4. Get your pills and your anonymous 15-digit code — the code is how your monitoring is tracked without ever attaching your name.
  5. Regular monitoring — you return for periodic HIV testing and kidney/STI checks to keep your supply going. All of it free.

💊 The Medication and the Cost

  • The drug: Truvada (TDF/FTC) — tenofovir disoproxil/emtricitabine, the standard oral PrEP.
  • The cost: Free. Consultations, tests and medication are all covered under the programme. There is no charge to enrol and no ID document required.

Injectable long-acting PrEP (cabotegravir) is not part of the public programme here — oral PrEP is what's available.

🗓️ Dosing: Daily and On-Demand (2-1-1)

Both are recognised and offered here.

  • Daily: one pill every day. Required if you have hepatitis B, and the simplest option if your sex life is unpredictable.
  • On-demand (2-1-1): 2 pills 2–24 hours before sex, 1 pill 24 hours after the first dose, 1 pill 24 hours after that. Just as effective for anal sex, and it cuts your pill count if you have sex infrequently. Recommended for men who have sex with men — not for anyone relying on it for vaginal sex or who injects drugs, and not if you have hepatitis B.

PrEP protects against HIV only — not syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia or hepatitis. Keep testing on schedule and consider condoms or doxyPEP for the bacterial STIs. The testing guide below covers the three-site swabs PrEP monitoring may not include.

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