First Doses Of HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir Delivered To Zambia, Eswatini

Tuesday November 18, 2025
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About 1,000 doses of Gilead Sciences Inc’s (GILD.O), opens new tab drug lenacapavir were delivered to Zambia and Eswatini last Thursday, United States, U.S and company officials said, the first delivery under a U.S. scheme to supply the HIV prevention drug to countries with a high prevalence of the virus that causes AIDS, REUTERS reported.

Zambia and Eswatini each received roughly 500 doses, and Gilead is working to receive regulatory approval for distribution in other so-called high-burden sub-Saharan countries. The African region remains the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic.

But the United States will not provide U.S.-funded doses to South Africa, which has the world’s highest HIV burden with about 8 million people, or one in five adults, living with the virus.

“Obviously we encourage every country, including countries like South Africa that have significant means of their own, to fund doses for their own population … U.S.-funded doses will not be going to South Africa,” Jeremy Lewin, senior U.S. State Department official for foreign assistance, told reporters on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has clashed with South Africa, confronting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May with explosive false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a tense White House meeting. Trump also canceled much-needed aid to the country, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and criticized its genocide court case against Israel.