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HEALTH
Scientists say they’ve found the easiest way to fend off HIV

Advocates for safe sex aren’t going to like this one, but the popularity ratings for condoms as HIV safeguards are about to take a hit.

Yesterday in Peru, data shared during an HIV conference revealed that lenacapavir, an injection taken twice yearly reduced HIV infections by 100% in African women from South Africa and Uganda. In a similar study, the same medication prevented infections in 96% of transgender men who were exposed.

African women are having a moment.

While no single form of HIV prevention takes the cake, women appear to have clear preferences as to how they choose to fend off the disease, the newest kid on the block being the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR).

• It’s a flexible silicone ring, inserted into the vagina which then slowly releases an antiviral, dapivirine.

• It comes in either a monthly, or 3-monthly version, each offering improved results to traditional HIV prevention methods.

• 11 African countries have approved the technology, with the most traction happening in Lesotho, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

According to a study, the ring was more popular among women who had multiple sex partners, as they found it more ‘practical for business’.

Now, who’s paying for all this? Gilead, the company that makes lenacapavir, currently shells out each dose for the nifty sum of $21,000. In August, protesters gathered in Munich to contest the medication costs after experts revealed that it cost Gilead $40 to produce doses for one patient yearly. A similar price point to what the South African government currently pays for Calbotegravir, another pill for HIV prevention.

Zooming out: On October 2, Gilead announced it signed licensing agreements with six pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and supply high-quality, low-cost versions of lenacapavir for 120 low- and lower-middle-income countries. -GN

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Round the Continent

• Zambia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China to establish the country’s first cholera vaccine manufacturing facility.

• 281 Kenyan MPs voted last night to impeach Rigathi Gachagua who had served as the country's VP since the election of William Ruto in 2022.

• The United States has issued a travel advisory urging citizens to reconsider trips to Rwanda following the outbreak of the Marburg virus which has claimed 12 lives so far.

• President Paul Biya's continued absence in Cameroon has sparked health concerns, especially after missing the UN General Assembly in New York last month.

• President Kais Saied yesterday clinched a decisive but unsurprising victory at the polls, logging in 90% of casted votes, to the disillusionment of Tunisians.