In a first for Africa, Zimbabwe’s Medicines Control Authority has approved the long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention, for those at substantial risk of HIV, including sex workers and LGBTQIA+ communities.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said “CAB-LA may be offered to people with an increased risk of HIV acquisition as part of comprehensive HIV prevention approaches”.
In most African countries, the above categories of citizens are sidelined from access to healthcare because of laws and societal segregation, reports News24.
In June, WHO advised countries to take up this initiative after observing a surge in new HIV infections globally, saying prevention efforts had stalled, with 1.5m new infections in 2021.
There were 4 000 new infections daily last year, with key populations (sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, people in prisons, and transgender people) and their sexual partners accounting for 70% of HIV infections globally, WHO said at the time.
Research has showed that CAB-LA injections every two months were safe, well-tolerated, and highly effective in reducing the risk of HIV acquisition among men who have sex with men, as well as transgender and cisgender women.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), one of the organisations involved in Zimbabwe’s HIV/Aids battle, said HIV prevalence has declined from 26.5% in 1997, to 14.3% to date, which is the fifth highest HIV prevalence rate in the world.
There are fears that with Zimbabwe pushing for a R204bn mining sector target, accelerating mining activities, if health is ignored, the country’s HIV prevalence rate could skyrocket.
This follows publication by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in the AIDS journal that when industrial mines open in sub-Saharan Africa, the local population becomes twice as likely to be HIV-positive than before the mines opened.
On average, it said, mining operations increase HIV prevalence by about 20% (from 5.8 to 7.3%), an almost two-fold increase in the odds of being HIV-positive after mine openings.
Meanwhile, it has been announced by the International Conference on Aids and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) that Zimbabwe will host the conference’s summit in December next year, the second time since 2015.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Long-acting injectable ARVs are convenient and private
Start planning cabotegravir injection rollout, say SA experts
Cost and uncertainty over uptake bedevil Africa’s uptake of injectable PrEp