The recent signing of sub-licence agreements to manufacture generic versions of cabotegravir long-acting (CAB-LA) will contribute to reducing HIV transmission.
South Africa has the biggest and fastest-expanding HIV prevention pill programme in Africa, with more than 100,000 new users of the tablet also known as oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) recorded between July 2016 and December 2020. This is according to data presented at the International Aids Society’s HIV Research for Prevention conference this week.
South Africa was the first country on the continent to approve PrEP, in 2015, and launched its pilot PrEP programme among sex workers in 2016. The country seems to be well ahead of the targets of its national HIV plan, which aims to have provided just over 104,000 new users from high-risk groups with the pill by 2022.