The Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi has reassured Parliament that lenacapavir does not cause HIV, cancer or other diseases, while stressing that demand for the HIV prevention injection is already rising sharply nationwide.
Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says that the demand for the HIV prevention drug lenacapavir is already rising sharply in South Africa, while firmly dismissing misinformation claiming the medicine causes HIV, cancer or other diseases.
Motsoaledi was responding to oral questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, where MPs raised concerns that false claims circulating in the public domain could undermine public confidence in, and uptake of, the drug.
He said lenacapavir is an HIV prevention medicine, describing it as an HIV capsid inhibitor that works by preventing HIV from establishing infection in the body.
“Let me state upfront, that most medicines and drugs do have side effects. There are very few who don't have any at all. What doctors do is to weigh the benefits versus the cons,” Motsoaledi said.
