Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - South Africa, Eswatini, and Zambia have started administering a groundbreaking new HIV-prevention injection in the drug’s first public rollouts in Africa, which has the world’s highest HIV burden.
Lenacapavir, taken twice a year, has been shown to reduce
the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9 percent, making it functionally
akin to a powerful vaccine.
In South Africa, where one in five adults lives with HIV, a
Wits University research unit oversaw the rollout as part of an initiative
funded by Unitaid, the United Nations health agency.
“The first individuals have begun using lenacapavir for HIV
prevention in South Africa … making it among the first real-world use of the
6-monthly injectable in low-and middle-income countries,” Unitaid said in a
statement.
It did not specify how many people received the first doses
of the drug, which cost $28,000 per person a year in the United States.
Neighbouring Zambia and Eswatini received 1,000 doses last
month as part of a US programme and were expected to launch the drug at World
AIDS Day ceremonies on Monday.
Under the programme, manufacturer Gilead Sciences has agreed
to provide lenacapavir at no profit to two million people in countries with a
high HIV burden over three years.
Eastern and southern Africa account for about 52 percent of
the 40.8 million people living with HIV worldwide, according to 2024 UNAIDS
data.
Generic versions of lenacapavir are expected to be available
from 2027 at around $40 per year in more than 100 countries, through agreements
by Unitaid and the Gates Foundation with Indian pharmaceutical companies.
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