A 'breakthrough' drug to prevent HIV, an 'unprecedented' rollout

""This is somewhat unprecedented, to see an innovation in global health move this fast to low- and middle-income countries," says Mitchell Warren, the executive director of AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), a global HIV prevention organization. "Obviously very small supplies, really just a down payment, but they're the first of what we think to be many doses in these two countries and in other countries.""

""The delivered doses mark the first small step toward providing at least 2 million doses to the highest burden countries, largely in Africa, by 2028. That's the goal of the Global Fund, a major donor to combating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, along with Gilead Sciences and the State Department. But the breakthrough drug arrives "just as we've seen some of the most dramatic political and economic challenges in the AIDS response," says Warren.""

Eswatini and Zambia each received 500 doses of lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV prevention drug that requires two injections per year for near-complete protection. The delivered doses represent an initial step toward a target of at least 2 million doses for high-burden countries, primarily in Africa, by 2028, supported by the Global Fund, Gilead Sciences, and the U.S. State Department. The initial supply is very small and described as a down payment. The rollout coincides with political and economic challenges and U.S. foreign aid cuts that have weakened delivery systems and disrupted care, raising concerns about reaching those most in need.

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