(3 minutes Read)
It has been found to work 100 per cent of the time to stop young women from getting HIV through sex, but also works well for other groups. Of the about 400 people in South Africa who still get infected each day, more than a quarter are teen girls and young women.
South Africa’s health minister on Tuesday hailed the planned rollout of the new HIV-prevention jab. However, he warned that the initial donated supply would be limited. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the drug would be distributed to about half a million people across the country, which has the world’s highest HIV prevalence rate. Taken only twice a year, the new drug, lenacapavir (LEN), could end HIV/Aids in South Africa within 14 to 18 years, if enough people take it.
It has been found to work 100 per cent of the time to stop young women from getting HIV through sex, but also works well for other groups. Of the about 400 people in South Africa who still get infected each day, more than a quarter are teen girls and young women.
Motsoaledi’s comments come just weeks after the United States announced plans to buy two million doses of the HIV prevention drug for low-income countries.
The rollout of the jab is set to begin in April 2026, funded by a US$29.2 million Global Fund grant, with an additional USD 5 million allocated by the Networking HIV and AIDS Community of Southern Africa.
Addressing a national healthcare roundtable dialogue in Johannesburg, Motsoaledi said the donation will deliver around 456,000 LEN initiations over two years, translating into 912,000 doses.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/hiv-program-will-continue-despite-us-withdrawal-south-africa/
Abrupt cuts to funding from USAID and other sources have significantly impacted HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis treatment, prevention, and research programmes across the country.