Faith Nyasuguta
Zimbabwe has given a nod to the use of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention, the first for Africa as a continent.
Information given by the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that “CAB-LA may be offered to people at substantial risk of HIV acquisition as part of comprehensive HIV prevention approaches”.
In most African countries, the people at risk include sex workers and LGBTQIA+ communities who are often sidelined from access to healthcare because of laws and societal segregation.
In June this year, WHO called on nations worldwide to take up this initiative after observing a surge in new HIV infections globally.
“HIV prevention efforts have stalled, with 1.5 million new HIV infections in 2021 – the same as in 2020.”
“There were 4, 000 new infections every day in 2021, 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 carried out showed that CAB-LA injections every two months were safe, well-tolerated, and highly effective in reducing the risk of HIV acquisition.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is one of the organisations involved in Zimbabwe’s HIV/Aids battle.
According to data from the Zimbabwean government, HIV prevalence has dropped from 26.5% in 1997 to 14.3% to date, which is the fifth highest HIV prevalence rate in the world.
Fears have arose that if health is ignored as Zimbabwe is pushing for a US$12 billion mining sector target, set to result in accelerated mining activities, the country’s HIV prevalence rate could rise.
