Overview
- President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday that Lenacapavir is now being offered at 360 public health facilities in six provinces and 24 high‑burden districts, with a government goal to reach three million people over three years.
- Lenacapavir is a long‑acting pre‑exposure prophylaxis given by injection roughly every six months to prevent HIV infection, and clinical trials reported strong protection including very high efficacy among cisgender women.
- South Africa received an initial shipment of 37,920 doses in April 2026 and has begun clinic administrations, but officials say wider impact depends on scaling manufacturing, affordable procurement, and sustained supply.
- The rollout will be phased and rights‑based, prioritizing adolescent girls and young women, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and other groups at highest risk and integrating injections into sexual and reproductive health services.
- United Nations agencies and local advocates are urging clear, trusted communication to counter false claims about safety, and health authorities warn about normal injection‑site reactions and the need for community engagement to drive uptake.