Africa Begins First Rollout of Breakthrough HIV‑Prevention Injection
On World AIDS Day (1 December 2025), several African countries launched the continent’s first public campaigns to administer a new HIV‑prevention injection, marking what many hope will be a turning point in the global fight against the virus.
New Drug Offers Near‑Total Protection
The drug, lenacapavir, is given every six months and has shown remarkable efficacy, reducing the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9%.
Because of this nearly perfect protection in trials, many health experts describe it as being “functionally akin to a vaccine.”
The first countries to begin administering lenacapavir publicly are South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia, three nations in a region long burdened by high HIV prevalence.
In South Africa, a research unit at Wits RHI (part of Wits University) is overseeing the rollout, under a programme funded by Unitaid.
Access, Cost and Future Prospects
The introduction of lenacapavir comes at a critical time. While it promises a significant leap forward in prevention, questions remain about access and affordability: in high-income countries, similar treatments have historically been expensive.
Under current plans, the manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, has committed to supplying lenacapavir at no profit to up to two million people in high‑burden countries over the next three years.
Meanwhile, global health advocates say that expanding supply, reducing costs, and ensuring equitable access, especially for vulnerable groups, remain key to maximizing impact.
A Critical Boost Amidst a Fragile Global Response
Health agencies caution that while new tools like lenacapavir offer hope, the broader fight against HIV remains fragile.
Over 40 million people worldwide currently live with HIV, and without sustained funding, prevention, stigma‑reduction, and treatment efforts, gains made over decades could be lost.
Still, this rollout, coinciding with World AIDS Day, is being hailed as “fresh hope” by many in the global health community. If widely adopted and properly supported, lenacapavir could transform HIV prevention efforts across Africa: offering long‑lasting protection, reducing reliance on daily pills, and enabling more accessible prevention for at‑risk populations.