Health & Science Correspondent
The government will begin providing Gilead’s HIV prevention shot, lenacapavir, on June 5, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced in his budget speech to parliament on Wednesday.
Lenacapavir has been hailed as a potential game-changer in the fight against HIV as the twice-yearly injection provides users with almost perfect protection against the virus. Hopes are running high that it will help slow the rate of new infections in South Africa, which is home to an estimated 8-million people living with the disease, or 17% of the world’s burden.
“We are in a position where we dare say we can eliminate HIV/Aids as a public health threat by 2030. All we have to do is to work hard … together as South Africans, motivated by a common bond and … a common destiny,” said Motsoaledi.
While the first batch of almost 38,000 doses of lenacapavir arrived in South Africa in early April, access to the shots has been delayed by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority’s requirements for postimportation testing.
