South Africa will become one of the first countries in the world to offer the new twice-yearly anti-HIV jab, lenacapavir, at scale. From April 2026, the Health Department plans to distribute the injection at more than 300 public clinics in districts hardest hit by new infections, officials confirmed at the Southern African HIV Clinician Society Conference in Cape Town.
The drug, developed by US pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, will be purchased using R513 million (£22m) from South Africa’s three-year Global Fund grant for HIV, TB and malaria. The programme aims to provide protection for nearly 460,000 people between 2026 and 2028.
Lenacapavir — known as LEN — is a new form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that disrupts the HIV virus before it can penetrate immune cells. Crucially, it only requires an injection every six months, making it far easier to adhere to than daily PrEP pills. Clinical trials published in 2024 showed near-complete protection among HIV-negative participants, sparking hopes it could dramatically reduce South Africa’s stubbornly high infection rates.
South Africa, along with eight other African nations including Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, has been selected by the Global Fund as an “early adopter” of the drug. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has already pledged to make the country the first to receive shipments.
From 2027, cheaper generic versions licensed to six manufacturers are expected to become available, enabling expansion to thousands more clinics nationwide. If uptake is high, experts believe lenacapavir could mark a turning point in the fight against HIV.
