The United States announced on Tuesday that it has supplied a new HIV prevention treatment to two African countries, months after President Donald Trump made sweeping cuts to global aid.
The US said it will broaden the rollout of the injectable drug Lenacapavir by working with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, alongside the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences.
Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, said that around 1,000 doses have been delivered to Eswatini and Zambia, with administration of the drug expected to begin this week.
Jeremy Lewin, who oversees foreign aid at the State Department, said the US intends to fund two million doses for low- and middle-income African countries. He stated that the target is set for 2028, although it could be achieved by mid-2027.
Lenacapavir is a new injectable HIV prevention drug that requires only two doses a year. Experts say it marks a significant advancement compared with daily oral medication.
Produced by Gilead Sciences in the United States, Lenacapavir could substantially cut new HIV infections, particularly among pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has reduced foreign assistance by more than 80 percent, calling such spending wasteful and arguing that it does not benefit US interests. His administration says it will instead focus aid on selected countries.
The US has also cut other longstanding HIV prevention programmes, including support for PrEP, which had been promoted to protect people at high risk of contracting HIV.
Global efforts since 2010 have lowered new HIV infections by 40 percent, but UNAIDS still projects 1.3 million new infections for 2024.
Daniel O’Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, said work is ongoing to secure approval for the drug’s distribution in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
“This is a really important moment in the history of HIV,” he said.
It is the “first time in history medication is given in Africa the same year it was approved in the US,” he added.
The initiative comes amid grim forecasts linked to US aid reductions. Research released on Monday by experts in Spain, Brazil and Mozambique warned that global aid cuts by the US and several European nations could result in 22.6 million additional preventable deaths by 2030.
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