A groundbreaking new drug to prevent HIV infection – the closest the world has to a vaccine – is being rolled out in some of the worst-hit countries in the world. Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Eswatini, southern Africa, where there is hope that the pandemic could be brought to an end

Lianne was just 13 when she lost her parents to Aids. Newly orphaned, she had to find a way to keep herself and her younger sister alive. With no money to finish school, unable to find a job and struggling to put food on the table, there was only one option – sex work. Now 24, she knows the dangers in Eswatini, a kingdom in southern Africa once described as the epicentre of the HIV epidemic and a country still struggling with some of the highest infection rates in the world. “Both my parents passed away. Hunger led me to join this work although I know it’s risky,” Lianne says, explaining that she earns under £25 a week. She is unable to acquire HIV preventative medication – known as PrEP – on her own. But there is now hope in the form of lenacapavir – dubbed the “miracle” drug – which the United Nations hopes can protect millions of people like Lianne and even end the Aids epidemic altogether.

The twice-yearly injection – described by the head of the UN Aids agency as “the closest thing we have to a vaccine” – provides near complete protection against infection. Lenacapavir is being introduced for the first time in nine of the most at-risk countries, including Eswatini, meaning Lianne was among the first people in the world to get the injection. While it is a big step forward in HIV care, concerns have been raised about the extent of the rollout and fears it will be ineffective if it is not introduced on a global scale.

    • InternationalHermit@lemmy.today
      4·
      2 days ago

      It is correct. You have hiv but you die from aids. HIV, the virus, doesn’t kill you. It destroys your immune system to the point that you die from regularly common virus and infections normal people shrug off even without any medication. Hence hiv carriers might die from the common cold for example. But since hiv is the root cause of their death, rather than the common cold, we say they died of aids = auto immune deficiency disorder. This also allows to differentiate between asymptomatic carriers and people with symptoms.

  • InternationalHermit@lemmy.today
    32·
    2 days ago

    People, this is just propaganda - or at least misleading journalism. It’s just another drug that can help hiv carriers to live a normal life. Which is great in itself, but it’s not a cure.