Anambra’s HIV prevention drug rollout

THE recent deployment of lenacapavir, an HIV prevention drug, in Anambra State signifies a major step in prevention strategy. Lenacapavir, a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) alternative for HIV, is available as an injection administered twice yearly and is the first of its kind globally. It is also recommended as an effective option to daily pills. The rollout in Anambra followed the unveiling of the product in March by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare with support from the World Health Organisation, the Global Fund, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and other partners.

In his remarks at the launch in Anambra, the Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Afam Obidike, said the decision was in line with efforts geared toward eventual elimination of HIV through prevention. He warned against the sale, commercialisation, or deliberate limitation of access to the medicine to the detriment of the underprivileged. As noted  by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), lenacapavir is “the next best thing”: a long-acting antiretroviral shown in trials to prevent almost all HIV infections among those at risk. Anambra’s position as the first subnational entity to officially declare a rollout of the medication represents a focal stance in the fight against HIV/AIDS and potentially highlights Nigeria’s seriousness in promoting HIV prevention programmes.

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According to the National Data Repository (NDR), as of May 2026, Nigeria had a population of around 1.6 million patients on treatment for HIV. Of this figure, Anambra ranks 15th among the top 20 states, with over 46,000 patients. Thus, the state’s decision to provide lenacapavir is a necessary and commendable step toward improved accessibility to HIV prevention medicine. This should also serve as a cue for states such as Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos, which  collectively have over 489,000 patients on treatment. In a country where access to medical care at the subnational level is already dangerously limited, urgent action is needed. Lenacapavir offers an essential alternative for HIV prevention. This opportunities should be maximised.

It is, however, very essential for the public to be properly educated on what lenacapavir does, as it is not a preventive vaccine. According to Onyema Ogbuagu, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Director of the Antivirals and Vaccines Research Program at the Yale AIDS Program, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, lenacapavir “inhibits what we call the HIV capsid,” a conical structure that houses both the genetic material of HIV and the proteins the virus uses to make copies of itself. By interfering with the capsid, the drug prevents HIV from replicating in host cells. Thus, the Anambra government, and by extension the Nigerian government, needs to ensure that messaging on what lenacapavir achieves is not misinterpreted as an excuse for carelessness in sexual activities. The necessary preventive mechanisms—practising safe sex, getting tested, and avoiding exposure—need to be restated, including in local languages, to reach Nigeria’s diverse population.

Significantly, the rollout of lenacapavir speaks to the place of Africa in knowledge production. As the continent with the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, the launch of lenacapavir, originally developed by Gilead Sciences in the United States, restates the need for African institutions to engage in more deliberate efforts toward research output on HIV prevention and treatment. African countries do not need to remain perpetually dependent on foreign solutions.