The end of the HIV epidemic has never been closer, yet it still feels distant for many of the world’s most vulnerable. The announcement last month that the drug Lenacapavir would be available for just $40 per patient, per year in up to 120 low- and middle-income countries starting in 2027 was promising.
Public health experts see it as “the next best thing” to an HIV vaccine. It’s hard to overstate the potential here. An estimated 44 million people worldwide have died from Aids-related illnesses since the 1980s, with countries like Kenya among the hardest hit.
The global community had once set a goal of ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030, but spending remained too low to meet the targets, and the dramatic end of U.S. foreign aid seemed to put it even further out of reach.
Now we have a second chance with the introduction of this powerful new drug. Just one shot every six months can disrupt the virus’s life cycle, serving as both prevention and treatment for those who are already infected.
New pharmaceuticals often take many years to reach high-poverty communities, and it can be especially challenging for people in these circumstances to follow a strict daily pill routine. The fact that lenacapavir will be available soon and requires just two shots to work effectively means it could be a game-changer, especially when combined with other efforts to promote oral PrEP and condoms. But there are still a lot of questions.
In Kibera, residents usually live on less than $3 a day. This means they would need to pay nearly a month’s salary for just two shots. That’s just not affordable.
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