THE Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) executive director, Itai Rusike, has hailed the introduction of Lenacapavir (LEN), a new injectable anti-retroviral, as a major breakthrough in closing the gap on vertical HIV transmission, particularly among women of childbearing age.
The drug, designed for administration by trained healthcare professionals, specifically targets HIV-negative individuals in high-risk populations.
By reducing new infections, Rusike said LEN will play a critical role in slowing the HIV pandemic and moving closer to its elimination.
“The drug has to be administered at a health institution by trained nurses or doctors,” he told Zimbabwe Independent.
“It will therefore go a long way in keeping new infections down and therefore contribute towards slowing the pandemic towards elimination.”
Rusike noted that while Zimbabwe’s prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme has achieved notable success, LEN will provide an additional layer of protection for HIV-free infants and mothers.
Zimbabwe is among 10 countries globally selected to roll out the twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention, according to a joint statement by United States Agency for International Development (USAid), the Global Fund and Gilead Sciences.
Rusike stressed that medical innovation alone is not enough, calling for a holistic strategy that tackles underlying social challenges.
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“The new prevention strategy calls for a comprehensive approach as it is a powerful tool in the arsenal of HIV prevention and control,” he said.
“In striving towards universal access to health, there is an urgent need for a complete and holistic approach in contrast to the vertical or silo approach as was the case in the yesteryear.
“This is to safeguard the gains made in ensuring HIV negative infants and mothers are not eroded by malnutrition, child sexual abuse, violence, drugs and substance abuse and that the scarce domestic and donor resources are effectively and efficiently utilised for system wide benefits.”
Prominent medical doctor Johannes Marisa described LEN as a “game changer”.
“The HIV prevention injectable is a game changer in HIV prevention, it is convenient, it can be tolerated better than oral tablets and I can tell you both incidence and prevalence rates will be reduced in a very short period of time,” he said.
“In 1980, smallpox was declared eradicated and if the injectable is going to be quite effective as reported, I can foresee a generation where HIV is declared eradicated, like smallpox.”
However, Marisa warned of behavioural risks.
“Of course, there are some drawbacks that I probably want to highlight,” he said.
“There is this big temptation that once somebody is safe or once somebody is protected from HIV contamination, their chances of contracting the virus are very minimal.
“There is a tendency to go for unprotected sex which may be catastrophic,” he warned.
Health practitioner Josephat Chiripanyanga agreed, noting that the injectable will especially benefit high-risk groups such as sex workers.
“This also applies to other high risk groups of individuals like commercial sex workers. So we encourage them to go and get these injections once every six months,” he said.
“So it means it is going to be easy for them to have access and it is also going to be difficult for them to default to taking their medication which means it is also going to be very difficult for them to contract HIV. ”
Deputy minister of Health and Child Care Sleiman Kwidini confirmed that Zimbabwe will begin a pilot rollout of LEN in January 2026, following successful clinical trials.
“As a country, we are honoured to be among the 10 countries selected globally. We expect the doses anytime. Supported by USAid through the Global Fund, we were allocated a quarter of a million United States dollars,” he said.
“The injectable will be purchased right from the manufacturer, Gilead.
“As the Ministry of Health we will train nurses, raise awareness by crafting correct messages.
“LEN is an HIV prevention injectable, so anyone who feels to be at risk is eligible. The modalities will be worked out but everyone sexually active and feels at risk of getting HIV infection is welcome,” Kwidini added.
One in seven Zimbabweans is HIV-positive and more than 60 000 new infections are recorded annually, figures that health experts say remain unacceptably high, underscoring the urgent need for innovative prevention strategies such as LEN.
