The good news first: HIV science has made remarkable progress. While we still lack a vaccine or cure, a single dose of a new long-acting injectable drug can now offer protection against HIV for up to six months. This breakthrough could revolutionize efforts to curb a pandemic that still claims a life every minute. However, […] Continue reading ->
Influential conservatives have long sought to curtail the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – and the actions of four nurses in Mozambique may have inadvertently given them the ammunition to do just that. Deeply uncomfortable with the sexual dimension of HIV transmission, the powerful Heritage Foundation, which authored the conservative Project […] Continue reading ->
Some two million people may get access to lenacapavir, the twice-yearly antiretroviral injection that prevents HIV injection, within the next three years, thanks to the Global Fund and United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The initiative is contingent upon regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), national pharmaceutical regulators, […] Continue reading ->
As a political appointee, Ambassador John Nkengasong, head of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), said that he will be obliged to resign when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on 20 January. “The rules that govern a transition are that all the political appointees have to resign on the 20th and then […] Continue reading ->
LIMA, Peru – The infection-prevention potential of Lenacapavir, the long-acting anti-HIV injectable administered just twice a year, took centre stage at the fifth HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P) held last week. However, several other important studies were also unveiled, including an injectable that combines contraception and HIV protection, results from a three-month vaginal ring, […] Continue reading ->
HIV activists have hailed the announcement by Gilead on Wednesday that it has authorised six generic manufacturers to sell its breakthrough HIV treatment, lenacapavir, in 120 low- and middle-income countries. However, they have urged Gilead to expand the deal to include countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Lenacapavir is a long-acting injectable drug that […] Continue reading ->
UNAIDS expressed “deep concern” Wednesday over Georgia’s newly adopted anti-LGBTQ+ law, saying that it could threaten progress made over the past decade to end AIDS in the former Soviet republic of 3.7 million people at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The new legislation exacerbates stigma and hinders “LGBTQ+ people’s access to essential health services” […] Continue reading ->
As the disease burden in developing countries shifts from infectious to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), governments and patient advocates are grappling with how to re-engineer healthcare systems to address both. The extraordinary global focus on HIV has resulted in a siloed network of HIV clinics to treat the virus – but there is growing acknowledgement that […] Continue reading ->
MUNICH – Delegates at the International AIDS conference leapt to their feet in delight after results from one of the most promising HIV prevention trial in the history of the epidemic – a twice-yearly injection of lenacapavir that prevented 100% of new HIV infections – were presented on Wednesday. Principal investigator Professor Linda-Gail Bekker from […] Continue reading ->
MUNICH – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the global campaign against AIDS, including the Global Fund, at the opening of the international AIDS Conference – and appealed to other global powers to do the same. The Ukraine war is draining Germany’s resources, and on the far right, the substantial and growing […] Continue reading ->