Why we don’t have long-acting HIV treatment in South Africa

In South Africa, taking HIV treatment means taking one or more antiretroviral tablets a day. People in some other countries have the additional option of treatment in the form of two injections administered every two months. Elri Voigt unpacks why long-acting HIV treatment is not available in South Africa and asks why the push for HIV prevention jabs has been so much stronger than that for HIV treatment jabs.

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AIDS 2024: Exciting developments with the jabs promising to revolutionise HIV prevention

Taking antiretrovirals to prevent HIV infection mostly still involves swallowing one or more pills a day. Some long-acting products that work for a month or two at a time have been approved but are not yet in wide use in South Africa. As delegates gathered for the 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) last week, Elri Voigt takes stock of the latest developments in this fast-moving field.

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Editorial: World AIDS Day 2022 – Choice, convenience, and respect should be the cornerstone of SA’s HIV response

In Spotlight’s analysis of South Africa’s HIV response in recent years, two issues have stood out consistently – still too many people living with HIV are not taking antiretroviral therapy and the rate of new HIV infections in South Africa is not coming down fast enough. Accordingly, argues Spotlight editor Marcus Low, we must accelerate the shift toward an HIV response where we make testing for HIV and taking antiretroviral treatment as convenient as possible.

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In-depth: What should behaviour change efforts look like in the PrEP era?

HIV prevention pills are becoming more widely available in South Africa and the country is set to soon start piloting the use of an HIV prevention injection. But merely having these tools available in clinics and other places does not mean people will use them. Thabo Molelekwa asked several experts what behaviour change communications should look like in this new era of HIV prevention.

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Pilot projects set to inform rollout of HIV prevention shot

South Africa is expected to begin piloting the HIV prevention injection early next year as one of several projects that experts hope will reveal the answers to some of the biggest questions about the future of the shot – who will deliver the injection, where, and how to sell people on the idea that just six shots a year could protect them from HIV. Laura Lopez Gonzalez reports.

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