Nigeria secures affordable HIV prevention at UNGA

By Sola Ogundipe

The Federal Government of Nigeria, done the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has announced a large breakthrough successful HIV prevention pursuing a landmark terms simplification of the revolutionary drug, lenacapavir.

The announcement was made astatine the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2025 Annual Meeting connected the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) successful New York.

Under the caller agreement, the outgo of the twice-yearly HIV prevention injection has been slashed from $28,000 (₦41.9 million) to conscionable $40 (₦60,000) per idiosyncratic per year. The improvement makes the medicine accessible to millions crossed Nigeria and much than 100 low- and middle-income countries. Lenacapavir has been shown to beryllium up to 100 percent effectual successful preventing caller HIV infections.

Delivering Nigeria’s connection astatine the event, the Director-General of NACA, Dr. Temitope Ilori, described the determination arsenic a turning constituent successful the country’s combat against HIV.

“Today marks a milestone successful our combat against HIV successful Nigeria and globally. Through this landmark entree agreement, we are unlocking affordable entree to lenacapavir – a transformational prevention enactment that offers longer protection, greater convenience, and renewed anticipation to millions astatine risk,” Ilori said.

She added that the statement ensures innovation is paired with equity. “This breakthrough does not stay a privilege for the few. It lays the instauration for broad, long-lasting interaction for those who request it most,” she stressed.

The terms simplification was made imaginable done a conjugation of partners including UNITAID, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Wits RHI, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (DRL), and the Gates Foundation. The organisations person committed to accelerate the rollout of generic versions of lenacapavir, expected arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2027.

Nigeria’s relation successful the statement has been hailed arsenic a objection of enactment astatine the UNGA, reaffirming the country’s committedness to grow prevention, fortify wellness systems, and fast-track the extremity of ending HIV arsenic a nationalist wellness menace by 2030.

Currently, implicit 2 cardinal Nigerians are surviving with HIV. While antiretroviral therapy (ART) is already provided escaped of complaint astatine nationalist wellness facilities, the instauration of lenacapavir is expected to unfastened a caller frontier successful prevention, peculiarly for susceptible populations.

The station Nigeria secures affordable HIV prevention astatine UNGA appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.