The cabinet is to expand the use of the anti-Hiv drug Prep from next summer, caretaker health minister Ernst Kuipers has told MPs.

Currently use of the drug is being trialed by men who have sex with men and transgender people with a higher risk of catching Hiv. But from next August, the group will be expanded to cover people who have sex with those considered to be high risk, on the basis of doctors’ advice.

On Monday it emerged that the number of new cases of Hiv in Amsterdam had fallen to just nine last year. The city has funded a much wider disbursement of the drug than the national programme.

The cabinet is funding the expanded programme to the tune of €1 million a year from 2025 but Kuipers plans to increase the monthly payment by patients from €7.50 to around €30. This is to ensure that the drug can be given to a wider group of people, the minister said.

Some 24,000 people in the Netherlands are currently living with Hiv, which is no longer fatal, given advances in treatment.

Nationwide, 427 people were diagnosed with Hiv in 2021, the last year for which total figures are available.