The World Well being Group (WHO) is asking on international locations—together with these within the Caribbean—to make sure speedy and widespread entry to a brand new breakthrough HIV prevention drug that requires solely two injections per 12 months to supply near-total safety from the virus and the event of AIDS.
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The injectable drug, lenacapavir (LEN), is a long-acting antiretroviral that WHO says must be made out there “instantly” via pharmacies, clinics, and on-line consultations. The UN well being company’s endorsement of LEN marks a major step in international HIV prevention, particularly amid stalled progress in combating the virus.
“Whereas an HIV vaccine stays elusive, lenacapavir is the following smartest thing: a long-acting antiretroviral proven in trials to stop nearly all HIV infections amongst these in danger,” mentioned WHO Director-Basic Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus throughout the thirteenth Worldwide AIDS Society Convention (IAS 2025) on HIV Science, held in Rwanda.
To enhance entry, WHO additionally really helpful scaling up the usage of speedy HIV testing kits, as a substitute of counting on “complicated, expensive procedures” that may hinder community-level outreach.
In 2024, roughly 1.3 million individuals acquired HIV, with essentially the most impacted teams together with intercourse employees, males who’ve intercourse with males, transgender individuals, individuals who inject medication, incarcerated people, and kids and youths. An estimated 40.8 million individuals have been residing with HIV globally by the tip of 2024, with 65 p.c primarily based in Africa. Round 630,000 individuals died from HIV-related causes final 12 months.
Regardless of these figures, WHO mentioned there was progress in therapy entry—31.6 million individuals have been receiving antiretroviral remedy in 2024, up from 30.3 million in 2023.
LEN now joins a rising checklist of WHO-recommended prevention instruments, together with each day oral tablets, injectable cabotegravir (administered each two months), and the dapivirine vaginal ring.
Nevertheless, entry to LEN stays largely restricted to scientific trial settings. WHO is urging governments, donors, and international well being companions to instantly incorporate the drug into nationwide mixture HIV-prevention programmes.
“WHO is dedicated to working with international locations and companions to make sure this innovation reaches communities as shortly and safely as attainable,” Dr. Tedros mentioned.
Dr. Meg Doherty, director of WHO’s Division of International HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes, additionally highlighted the urgency of motion in mild of main funding cuts to the worldwide HIV/AIDS response, together with to PEPFAR, the U.S. authorities’s flagship programme preventing HIV/AIDS in Africa.
“We have now the instruments and the data to finish AIDS…what we want now could be daring implementation of those suggestions, grounded in fairness and powered by communities,” Dr. Doherty said.
