US BRINGS NEW HIV PREVENTION SHOT TO ZAMBIA

Twice-yearly lenacapavir already reaches more than 200 women at UTH

By Francis Maingaila

Lusaka, Zambia24 -- 02-09-2026 -- The United States Government has brought a new HIV prevention shot to Zambia, with more than 200 women already receiving twice-yearly lenacapavir at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Women and Newborn Hospital in Lusaka.

The arrival of the U.S.-funded consignment gives health workers another option for protecting women from HIV, particularly during pregnancy and breastfeeding when preventing infection is also important for protecting babies.

Speaking during an event to mark the arrival of the shipment, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia said the medicine could help save lives and give women a more convenient way of protecting themselves from HIV.

Mr Garcia said the occasion was an important step in the wider effort to end HIV, but stressed that the work being done at UTH was largely a result of Zambia’s own health workers and institutions.

“This is a Zambian achievement, led by Zambians for Zambians,” Mr Garcia said.

He said the Women and Newborn Hospital was a reflection of the skill and dedication found among Zambian health workers, describing the facility as a place where clinicians, nurses and other health professionals were putting their knowledge to work every day.

Mr Garcia said Zambia had built one of the most effective HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programmes on the continent and that the United States was proud to support the country’s efforts.

He said the U.S. Government’s support was intended to strengthen Zambia’s health institutions and leadership rather than take over the work being done by local health authorities.

Mr Garcia said the arrival of lenacapavir, produced by U.S. pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, was an example of how medical innovation could be brought to people through cooperation between the two countries.

Unlike daily HIV prevention tablets, lenacapavir is administered twice a year.

Mr Garcia said this gave women and other people at risk of HIV infection another choice, particularly those who may find it difficult to take medication every day.

He said the medicine was especially important for pregnant and breastfeeding women because keeping mothers HIV-negative also helps protect their children.

Mr Garcia said the medicine was being provided free of charge at Zambian health facilities, removing the cost of the drug from the list of concerns for women and families seeking HIV prevention services.

He said the United States remained committed to supporting health priorities identified by the Zambian Government under President Hakainde Hichilema.

Mr Garcia described the relationship between Zambia and the United States as one built around shared goals and results, saying the two countries were working together to strengthen Zambia’s health system.

He thanked the Ministry of Health, UTH management, medical specialists and other health workers for the work they were doing to make the medicine available to women.

Mr Garcia also asked officials present to convey his appreciation to President Hichilema for Zambia’s leadership in the health sector.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Donor Coordination George Sinyangwe said the United States had been one of Zambia’s most important partners in the fight against HIV for decades.

Mr Sinyangwe said the relationship between the two countries went back to shortly after Zambia gained independence in 1964, when the United States established diplomatic relations with the country.

He recalled the relationship between former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and Zambia’s first President, Kenneth Kaunda, saying the partnership had continued over the years.

Mr Sinyangwe said the United States had also supported Zambia in strengthening democracy and had continued providing development assistance in different sectors.

But he said the health sector had perhaps provided one of the clearest examples of what the partnership had meant to ordinary Zambians.

Mr Sinyangwe described the United States as the single largest external supporter of Zambia’s HIV response, supporting both prevention and treatment programmes.

He said HIV had once taken a heavy toll on the country, contributing to a dramatic fall in life expectancy from about 64 years to around 33 years.

With increased access to treatment and other HIV interventions, Mr Sinyangwe said life expectancy had since recovered to around 64 years.

He said deaths from HIV had also fallen sharply, with effective treatment allowing people living with the virus to live longer lives.

Mr Sinyangwe said the impact of HIV could not only be measured in statistics because many Zambian families had lost parents, children, brothers and sisters to the disease.

He gave a personal example, saying he had four brothers who were all educated, with some reaching PhD level, but that he was now the only one alive because of HIV.

“I am the only one remaining,” Mr Sinyangwe said.

He said the loss of his brothers represented not only a personal tragedy but also a loss of skills and productivity that the country could have benefited from.

Mr Sinyangwe said American support had helped Zambia bring down HIV-related deaths and restore the health of many people who would otherwise have been lost to the disease.

He said the arrival of lenacapavir should therefore be seen as part of a much longer fight against HIV.

Mr Sinyangwe thanked the United States for continuing to provide medicines and other support aimed at reducing the impact of HIV on Zambian families and communities.

He said a healthy population was important to the country's development because people who are healthy are able to work, support their families and contribute to the economy.

At the Women and Newborn Hospital, Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Mukatimui Kalima Munalula said the facility had already started more than 200 women on injectable lenacapavir, along with some of their male partners.

Dr Munalula said the medicine was being offered to pregnant women as well as breastfeeding mothers.

She said the aim was to ensure that women remained protected from HIV during periods when they could also face the risk of passing the virus to their babies if they acquired an infection.

Dr Munalula said the hospital was taking the lead in providing the service because of its position as Zambia’s leading maternal health facility.

She said the experience being gathered at UTH would be important as the programme was extended to other parts of the country.

“What we are doing here will help us to generate information that can be used to roll out the service to the rest of the country,” Dr Munalula said.

She said health workers at the facility were learning from the women being initiated on the medicine and from the practical experience of providing the service.

Dr Munalula thanked Mr Garcia, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Government and other partners for making the medicine available to Zambian women.

She said the support would help the hospital strengthen its efforts to prevent women from acquiring HIV and, in turn, protect their babies.

For the women coming through the Women and Newborn Hospital, the new injection offers a different way of staying protected from HIV without having to remember to take a prevention pill every day.

With the medicine given only twice a year, health workers hope it will make HIV prevention easier for more women and other people at risk of infection to maintain.