The United States has launched its rollout of the long-acting HIV prevention injection lenacapavir across parts of Africa, but South Africa has been left out of the initial distribution.
The programme began with deliveries to Zambia and Eswatini, where each country received “only 500” donated doses ahead of World AIDS Day, with 12 more African nations also lined up to receive supplies.
South Africa’s exclusion is notable because the country has the world’s largest HIV epidemic, with nearly 8 million people living with HIV and thousands of new infections recorded every week.
Fatima Hassan from the Health Justice Initiative highlighted that more than 2 million South Africans need LEN-LA annually to help reduce new infections.
The US State Department confirmed that the global rollout will be limited to “only 300 000 people” in 2026.
Hassan said South Africa may only receive doses through a Global Fund reallocation, which would cover about 480 000 people between 2026 and 2028.
She added that “South African modelers have shown” this limited supply would have very little effect, likely preventing just 5,000 out of an estimated 180,000 new infections each year.
