A newly approved HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, is set to be introduced in at least nine countries in early 2026, and Rwanda could be among the first to deploy it, government and World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Monday, July 14.
The WHO approved new guidelines on Monday, during the 13th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science, taking place in Kigali, recommending the use of injectable lenacapavir, a twice-yearly antiviral HIV-preventing drug manufactured by American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It is marketed under the brand name Yeztugo.
The Minister of Health, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, said Rwanda is interested in adopting the new HIV prevention drug and is currently in the planning and consultation phase, with implementation expected once agreements are finalised.
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"Rwanda is working on integrating long-acting injectable treatment into its national HIV care guidelines, and this will be implemented soon," Nsanzimana said on Monday at a news conference.
"We have moved from people taking multiple pills a day to just one pill a day," the Minister of Health said. "Now, we are transitioning to other forms of treatment, either a pill taken once a month or an injection that can last several months, even up to six months."
Lenacapavir is the first HIV prevention drug approved for use every six months.
"We launched new guidelines on what we call Long-Acting Injectable Prevention, or PrEP, which is the Lenacapavir PrEP, a really exciting innovation. It can be taken every six months to prevent new HIV infections," Dr. Meg Doherty, Director of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections at the WHO, told reporters in Kigali.
"We've also recommended the use of rapid diagnostic tests, a simplified way to check for HIV infections when starting, continuing, or completing long-acting PrEP."
Rollout plans, affordability
Doherty confirmed that a partnership between the Global Fund and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) will support early access to the drug.
"The Global Fund has a commitment with CIFF to bring long-acting PrEP Lenacapavir to at least nine early-adopter countries starting in early 2026. So, several countries will begin to access this medicine very soon."
While she did not name all nine countries, Doherty said Rwanda is already in talks to become one of them.
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Doherty said countries receiving it in the beginning will get it for free. "But they will need to ensure they have the infrastructure and trained healthcare workers to deliver it. Over time, we hope the price will come close to that of oral PrEP, or just slightly highe," she said.
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Targets, impact
The WHO's current target is to reach two million people per year initially, with the potential to scale up. "That's just a starting point. Forecasts suggest the actual need is much higher," the official said.
"If we can bring this to people at greatest risk, it could be a game-changer. It also has great potential for adolescent girls, young women, and pregnant women acquiring HIV."
Rwanda has successfully met the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, which aim to ensure that 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression by 2030.
The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows that Rwanda has reduced new HIV infections by 82 per cent, and AIDS-related deaths by 86 per cent.
