Eastern Cape rolls out twice-a-year HIV injection as 3 500 start treatment
Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa says lenacapavir is available at designated provincial facilities, with young people and sex workers among those urged to come forward for testing and prevention.
The Eastern Cape has put a twice-a-year HIV prevention injection into its public health plan and is calling on residents, young people and sex workers in particular, to come to designated facilities and ask for it.
Provincial Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa launched the Lenacapavir HIV Prevention and Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy in KwaNoxolo, Nelson Mandela Bay, and said about 3 500 people in the province have already been started on lenacapavir. The medicine is given by injection roughly six months apart by a healthcare provider, and it is a prevention option for people at risk of acquiring HIV, not a treatment for people already living with the virus.
“We are inviting everyone to come and test. If you are HIV-negative, then we will give you the injection. It is a landmark process that can help the country manage HIV infection,” Capa said.
She said the shift away from daily tablets is the point. “It is groundbreaking for us because now you are no longer going to take tablets every day. You can come to us, get an injection and then come back after six months. So twice a year, you take an injection.”
Capa said the province had sufficient doses at the time of the launch, and that continued supply will set the pace of the programme. Lenacapavir is expensive, she said, and donor support has made the rollout possible.
She urged residents to use the services already on offer at public facilities, including HIV and tuberculosis testing and cervical cancer screening, and said the department keeps a list of the facilities rendering the service. “We are telling people that it is out there. Go to our facilities. We do have a list of facilities that are rendering this service,” she said. She also called on men in particular to make more use of health services, noting the department has set up safe spaces where men can discuss health concerns with other men.
The strategy runs alongside the province’s cervical cancer work: HPV vaccination for eligible girls, screening for women, and timely treatment for those found to have precancerous changes or cervical cancer. The National Department of Health’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy aims to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030. Women living with HIV face a higher risk of developing cervical cancer and are urged to keep to recommended screening and follow-up.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s MMC for Public Health, Thsonono Buyeye, told the launch that the injection is neither a vaccine nor a treatment for people living with HIV, and that residents should consult healthcare professionals to establish eligibility. “Guidance confirms that Lenacapavir is being offered alongside other HIV prevention options, including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP),” he said. He warned that the new options do not remove the need for regular testing, counselling and a healthy lifestyle, and welcomed the focus on women’s health. “For all these deliverables within the strategy to succeed, it is important that residents go for regular health check-ups and screening to ensure that potential health problems are detected early,” he said.
Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe committed the municipality to supporting the provincial rollout through intergovernmental relations and the District Development Model, and tied the strategy’s success to working clinics. “We commit to supporting the Department of Health as it rolls out this strategy. For it to succeed, it is important that we ensure our clinics function properly through efficient municipal services,” she said. The municipality named water, sanitation, waste management and a clean public environment as the services that underpin effective healthcare delivery.
This report is drawn from the SAnews (South African Government News Agency) account of the launch, which summarises the province’s position rather than reproducing the strategy document. The source gives no figure for how many doses the province holds, no breakdown of the 3 500 already initiated, and no date for when further supply is expected. The rate at which the programme expands will depend on doses continuing to arrive.
SAnews: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/eastern-cape-residents-urged-access-new-hiv-prevention-injection
