Korede Abdullah in Lagos
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries worldwide to immediately adopt lenacapavir (LEN), a groundbreaking HIV drug requiring only two injections per year to offer near-total protection against HIV and AIDS.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus described lenacapavir as “the next best thing” in HIV prevention during the 13th International AIDS Society (IAS 2025) Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, noting, “Lenacapavir has been shown in trials to prevent almost all HIV infections among at-risk populations.”
The WHO stressed the need for lenacapavir to be widely accessible through pharmacies, clinics, and online consultations, especially as global HIV prevention progress slows.
To boost uptake, the agency recommended rapid HIV testing over more expensive methods and called on governments, donors, and partners to swiftly add LEN to national HIV prevention plans, aligning with its recent approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Amid funding cuts to major HIV/AIDS programs like PEPFAR, WHO’s Director of Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Programmes, Dr. Meg Doherty, emphasised, “We have the tools and the knowledge to end AIDS. What we need now is bold implementation of these recommendations, grounded in equity and powered by communities.”
In 2024 alone, 1.3 million people were newly infected with HIV, while an estimated 40.8 million people globally live with the virus.
