17,000 people to get injectable HIV-prevention drug in 2026

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In January next year (2026), Government will roll out a long-acting HIV-prevention drug, injectable Lenacapavir, the head of HIV prevention at the Ministry of Health has said.

Dr. Peter Mudiope further noted that doses of injectable Lenacapavir have been secured for 17,000 people to last one year.

“Amidst limited doses, priority will be given to those at substantial risk of HIV acquisition, such as adolescent girls and young women who are engaged in marital or concurrent sexual partnerships. Others include people engaged in commercial sex work, those in a discordant relationship, pregnant women who are sexually active in the late stage of pregnancy or are breastfeeding. The other group categorised as high-risk populations to benefit are people engaged in multiple sexual concurrent partnerships,” Dr Mudiope said.

The long-acting injectable Lenacapavir drug is administered once every six months. Dr Mudiope said the new intervention will help to address the issue of adherence, considering that continuity in care on oral PrEP has been a challenge.

The development follows the recent announcement by Global Fund that it has signed an agreement with Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of the drug, to procure it for up to two million people in low- and middle-income countries. This simply means that it can be introduced in these countries at the same time as high-income countries.

Under this agreement, countries supported by Global Fund can access Lenacapavir for PrEP.

Cost of Lenacapavir drug

Uganda will use about $1.14m from its existing Global Fund grant towards the procurement of the drug for 17,000 people. The cost of two doses of the drug for each person is ($60) sh215,000 annually.

“They have told us to place orders and that is what we are pursuing,” Dr. Hudson Balidawa, the monitoring specialist at Global Fund HIV investment, said.

Dr Mudiope said the beneficiaries of injectable Lenacapovir will be picked from the sites that are already offering the HIV prevention (PrEP) tools.

“It is much easier and cheaper to start with the already existing sites,” he noted.

Existing HIV prevention (PrEP) tools

According to Dr Mudiope, several forms of PrEP are being administered in cities and 657 health facilities across the country, and majority funded by donors, through the vertical programme.

The different choices of PrEP include oral tablets, vaginal ring, and injectable Cabotegravir (CAB-LA) - a two-months long-acting injectable form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) used to prevent HIV infection.

He noted that some health facilities have already received the injectable Cabotegravir (CAB-LA).

Background

The Uganda-tested long-acting injectable lenacapavir HIV prevention drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in June 2025.

A study known as PURPOSE 1, done in South Africa and Uganda among 5,328 adolescent girls and young women aged 16 to 25 years; discovered that those who got the injection twice a year were not infected with HIV hence. This resulted in 99.9% prevention rate, consequently outperforming the daily ARV pill.

The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and based in part on the trial results. In December 2024, the journal Science named lenacapavir the “2024 Breakthrough of the Year’’

The HIV burden

The national HIV prevalence has dropped to 4.9% down from 5.1%, according to the 2025 national HIV estimates report.

The same report shows that Uganda has registered a 61% reduction which translates into 37,000 new HIV infections per year compared to 15 years ago, where over 97,000 new HIV infections were registered.

The epidemic still carries a female face because of the 37,000 new HIV infections, 14,000 were young people aged 15 to 24, with majority (70%) being adolescent girls and young women. 17% of the new HIV infections occurred among young boys and men who are not circumcised but still engaging in unsafe sexual practices.

In addition, there has been a 75% reduction in mother-to-child transmission, which implies that Uganda has not yet attained elimination stage. In regard, a total of 4,700 children acquire HIV from their infected mothers.

The director for Planning and Strategic Information at Uganda AIDS Commission described the indicators as a success compared to 15 years ago, where close to 18,600 new HIV infections were mother-to-child.

“Reducing it to less than 5,000 infections is an achievement, although a lot more is needed,” Dr Bagambe noted.

In terms of AIDS-related deaths, in 2024, a total of 20,000 Ugandans succumbed to AIDS-related conditions.