World AIDS day marks start of game-changing HIV injection in Africa

South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia have started giving a new HIV-prevention injection, marking the first public use of the drug in Africa  the continent most affected by HIV.

The injection, called lenacapavir, is taken twice a year and has been proven to reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 99.9%, making it almost as effective as a vaccine.

In South Africa   where about one in every five adults lives with HIV   a research team at Wits University is supervising the first phase of the rollout.

The programme is supported by Unitaid, a United Nations health agency.
Unitaid confirmed that the first set of people have already received the drug in South Africa.

They described this as one of the earliest real-world uses of the six-monthly injection in low- and middle-income countries. The agency did not say how many people got the first doses, but the wider national rollout is expected next year.

Zambia and Eswatini also planned to start giving the injection on Monday, as part of World AIDS Day activities. Both countries received 1,000 doses last month through a programme supported by the United States.

The manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, said it will supply lenacapavir at no profit to two million people in high-HIV-burden countries over the next three years.
However, critics say this is not enough to meet the huge demand.

They also note that the commercial price of the drug about $28,000 per person per year in the United States  is far too expensive for most people in Africa.

According to UNAIDS 2024, eastern and southern Africa account for 52% of the 40.8 million people living with HIV worldwide.