China has announced a US$3.49 million (R60 million) partnership with South Africa to expand HIV prevention services among adolescents and young people, as well as people who inject drugs, over the next two years. These two groups are among those considered key populations – people who are at high risk of HIV infection. Globally, young people between the ages of 15 to 24 account for more than a third of new infections, while people who inject drugs face disproportionately high risk due to limited access to harm-reduction services Speaking at the launch event in Pretoria this week, health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says the $3.5 million grant comes at the right time, “when the funding for HIV prevention interventions is shrinking.” The project aims to reach 54 000 adolescents and young people in 16 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges across seven provinces. It will also support 500
South Africa may be able to start rolling out lenacapavir (LEN), the twice-yearly HIV prevention jab, in January 2026 – three months earlier than initially planned. But the details of the agreement that will bring the drug into the country are guarded by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – and even the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) says it doesn’t know what LEN will cost the country at the end of the Global Fund donation in two and a half years. National Department of Health Director General, Dr Sandile Buthelezi, told delegates at this week’s South African AIDS conference that U.S.-based Gilead Sciences, the drug’s manufacturer, promised to deliver the first batch as soon as January next year. In fact, the government is pushing for an even earlier delivery, in time for the G20 leaders’ summit, which will be held in Johannesburg in November. “There is a commitment from The Global
