In light of the recent approval of new HIV prevention technologies, advocates have called for massive awareness campaigns, noting limited knowledge among target groups.
This comes after the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable that offers protection for six months, along with other injectables such as Long Acting Cabotegravir (Cab LA), which is administered every two months.
Malawi, through a government-led initiative that is supported by partners such as Pepfar and Bill Gates Foundation, launched Cab LA in 2023 in a bid to increase access to this long-acting injectable form of pre-exposure prophylaxis as an alternative to daily oral antiretroviral (ARV) pills.
Meanwhile, the US-FDA has indicated that Lenacapavir will be available at a low cost of $40 per person per year in 120 low and middle-income countries starting in 2027.
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Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Y+ Global Malawi Executive Director Elina Mwansinga said Lenacapavir is being introduced at a time awareness about Cab LA remains very low in Malawi.
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Mwansinga said some people thought that it was a cure for HIV.
“As such, there is a need for community awareness but we also need to capacitate our media houses to ensure that they can also escalate the information. We need orientation as well as training, especially on the key people who work with other large populations, to ensure that there is demand for these services. And we also, if we see that the quality is also not that good, we can also empower more people to advocate,” she said.
Mwansinga further noted that the new prevention tools are costly, and Malawi should begin enhancing domestic health financing amid declining donor support.
Commenting on the issue, Coalition for Women Living with HIV Executive Director Edna Tembo has said Malawi needs to be more proactive, as decision-making often takes too long.
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“We have always delayed in adopting new technologies, a problem exacerbated by bureaucratic tendencies,” she said.
And, in a statement released yesterday, Media Aids and Health Watch has bemoaned delays to raise awareness on HIV preventative measures, saying “lack of aggressive public awareness campaigns is making some people believe that HIV and Aids are no longer threats to Malawi. This perception is silently fuelling HIV infection cases”.
A recent report by the National Aids Commission indicates that Malawi successfully achieved the global 95-95-95 targets by 2024, ahead of the 2025 deadline.
