New HIV drug arrives in Zimbabwe, promising protection but testing health systems after aid cuts

Описание: (22 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Harare, Zimbabwe - 19 February 2026
1. Various of people waiting their turn to be given shot of the new HIV prevention drug at a mobile clinic
2. Wide of a healthcare worker preparing a syringe with the new HIV drug
3. Various mid of Constance Mukoloka, receiving the shot
4. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Constance Mukoloka, sex worker:
‘I am safe, I can work with confidence now. When we took tablets, customers would see a container of pills and leave, they would never return due to fear. They couldn’t tell the difference between PrEP and treatment drugs. With the work we do, that stigma costs you money, but now for the next 6 months I’m safe.”
5. Various of Constance receiving the new HIV drug Lenacapavir
6. Close of the drug bottle
7. SOUNDBITE (Shona) Constance Mukoloka, sex worker:
"I am a sex worker, I work in beer halls looking for clients. Sometimes I would get drunk and forget to take my drugs. Sometimes I would work all night and not have time to take tablets but with this vaccine even if I get drunk, I know I’m safe.”
8. Wide of launch event
9. Close of Lenacapavir display on stage
10. Mid of attendees at launch event
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Ernest Chikwati, program director at Aids Healthcare Foundation:
"When someone's taking medicines every day, they tend to forget. But when someone is injected 6 months, it's very unlikely that they'll forget to take their medicine. So Lenacapvir is coming as an addition to all the pre-exposure prophylaxis methods."
12. Wide of healthcare workers with box of Lenacapavir
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Ernest Chikwati, program director at Aids Healthcare Foundation:
"Let's not say this is the silver bullet for HIV prevention. There are other methods. Condoms remain key for us as an organization, we've got two condom brands we give freely in the public sector. We also feel funding should be given to condoms as well. Condoms, why? Because they are very cheap.”
14. Various of a man using the self-test kit
STORYLINE:
Young women, mothers holding babies and some men lined up in a dusty field on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

They came for injections of a new HIV prevention drug launched in the country on Thursday, one that only needs to be administered twice a year.

Zimbabwe, where HIV has led to tens of thousands of deaths over the past two decades, is one of the first countries to roll out lenacapavir, a long-acting prevention drug that authorities hope will slow new infections.

With clinical studies demonstrating near-total protection, the drug has been described by some health officials as a turning point for high-risk groups.

Others warn that turning scientific promise into broad impact will require overcoming funding constraints, infrastructure gaps and the challenge of keeping patients engaged.

At the Zimbabwe launch, Constance Mukoloka stepped from the back of a mobile clinic, beaming with relief after receiving one of the first doses.

“I am safe, I can work with confidence now,” said the 27-year-old sex worker, describing how daily preventive pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, pills often created tension with clients and proved difficult to take consistently, putting her and others at risk.

Mukoloka is among the first beneficiaries of a donor-supported rollout of lenacapavir across 10 African countries.

Health officials and advocates say the drug could reshape HIV prevention strategies if governments can navigate barriers of cost and fragile health systems.



For Mukoloka, the drug represents more than convenience.













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