Promising new HIV-prevention drug is hard to find where it’s most needed, in places like Uganda

In Mbarara, a city in western Uganda known for sex tourism, a sex worker named Lisa Mutoni uses condoms to protect herself from HIV and other infections during sex. She takes HIV-prevention medication called PrEP, but there's a new option called lenacapavir that offers nearly complete protection with just two shots a year. However, lenacapavir is not widely available in Uganda, and Mutoni has trouble getting it.

The drug, developed by Gilead Sciences, has shown great potential in protecting individuals and even slowing the global HIV epidemic. But there aren't enough doses in Uganda or worldwide. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a generic version of lenacapavir that could help speed its production and distribution to 120 low-income countries at a lower price.

However, this still won't reach the 3 million people the Global Fund hopes to reach by 2028. Health experts argue that more needs to be done to make lenacapavir accessible, especially to people like Mutoni who rely on it for protection.