HIV Prevention News Around The Globe

Uganda: Govt Pledges Expanded Access to New HIV Prevention Methods

The Ministry of Health has reiterated its commitment to expanding access to new HIV prevention methods, particularly Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) products, in light of promising trial results.

This initiative is part of the country's broader National HIV Combination Prevention Strategy, which aims to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Dr Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, said it was important that these advancements in the fight against HIV. "Globally, there are significant advancements in HIV prevention that promise to strengthen the fight against the epidemic. The Ministry of Health is committed to bringing these innovations to the country as part of our ongoing National HIV Combination Prevention Strategy," she stated.

One of the most promising developments is the injectable PrEP product, Lenacapavir, which is currently under review. Findings from Gilead Sciences' Purpose 1 trial, involving over 5,000 participants from Uganda and South Africa, showed that Lenacapavir was 100% effective in preventing HIV transmission among women and adolescent girls. "Once approved, Lenacapavir will be a game-changer, reducing the burden of daily pills, minimizing stigma, and easing the pressure on our healthcare systems," Dr Atwine noted.

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Single-shot HIV treatment suppresses virus 10,000-fold for months, animal study finds

Researchers have developed an experimental HIV treatment that sustains itself in the body, with the goal of controlling virus levels for the long term after a single dose.

So far, the new treatment has been tested in monkeys, not people. But in the monkeys, it dramatically suppressed HIV for at least seven months. If the drug is approved for people someday, its protection might last years, said Adrian Wildfire, a virologist and drug development scientist who was not involved in the research.

"I suspect you'll see some decline in function [of the treatment] after five to seven years," Wildfire told Live Science. That represents a big jump from current treatment options. About 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV, but only about three-quarters of them are currently receiving antiretroviral therapy, the standard treatment. A smaller percentage are virally suppressed, meaning the amount of HIV in their body has declined to extremely low levels.

Some people face difficulties obtaining an HIV diagnosis and therapy prescription; others may struggle to afford medication, tolerate its side effects, or remember to take the daily pills many treatment regimens require to keep the virus at bay. Some existing long-acting shots last weeks or months, but people typically need to reach suppression with pills before qualifying for the shots.

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Ghana spends over $126m on HIV interventions in 2022

Ghana in 2022 spent $126,415,269 on HIV- related activities as compared to $127,828,300 in 2021, a one per cent decrease in total expenditure in 2022.

Out of the total expenditure, $51,650,765 was from the government, $20,589,629 from the private sector and $54,174,875 from international partners.

This is contained in the 2022 results of the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) disseminated by Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, Director General of the Ghana AIDS commission in Accra on Wednesday. He said the assessment showed that international organizations, primarily the global fund and the US government accounted for the largest portion of financing with an increase of three per cent from 2021 to 2022.

NASA also indicated an increase of 19 per cent in the government’s expenditure towards HIV-related activities within the period. Dr Atuahene said for HIV spending by programme areas, HIV treatment, care and support accounted for 53 per cent of HIV financing at an amount of $68,011,545. He said the assessment also noted that areas such as social protection, development synergies and HIV related research had received relatively little attention.

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Novel vaccine concept generates immune responses that could produce multiple types of HIV neutralizing antibodies

Using a combination of cutting-edge immunologic technologies, researchers have successfully stimulated animals' immune systems to induce rare precursor B cells of a class of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). The findings, published today in Nature Immunology, are an encouraging, incremental step in developing a preventive HIV vaccine.

Designing an immunogen—a molecule used in a vaccine that elicits a specific immune system response—to stimulate production of 10E8 bNAbs has been challenging because that key region of gp41 is hidden in a recessed crevice on HIV's surface. Prior vaccine immunogens have not generated bNAbs with the physical structure to reach and bind to gp41.

To address this challenge, the researchers engineered immunogens on nanoparticles that mimic the appearance of a specific part of gp41. They vaccinated rhesus macaque monkeys and mice with those immunogens and elicited specific responses from the 10E8 B cell precursors and induced antibodies that showed signs of maturing into bNAbs that could reach the hidden gp41 region. They observed similar responses when they used mRNA-encoded nanoparticles in mice.

Together, these observations suggest that the promising immunization data from mice and macaques has the potential for translation to humans.

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Breakthrough HIV drug Lenacapavir Shows promising results in recent study

A promising new drug could help in the fight against HIV. Metro Atlanta has one of the highest HIV rates in the world. A recent study shows the new injectable drug blocked the spread of HIV in everyone who took part.

The drug is called Lenacapavir and is an injection received twice a year. Experts say it could be a game changer. HIV is an epidemic in Georgia. Atlanta ranks in the top five cities with the highest numbers. "HIV continues to be a huge problem," said Leisha McKinley-Beach, CEO and founder of the Black Public Health Academy. "Atlanta has the third-highest new HIV diagnoses, only behind Miami and Memphis."

Tests in Uganda and South Africa have shown Lenacapavir blocks HIV in patients who do not already have the virus. A recent study showed a shot given twice a year to cisgender women blocked the spread of HIV in everyone who took part. "This is pretty big. This injection could indeed be one of our game changers," McKinley-Beach said.

HIV and AIDS hit African American communities much harder than other ethnic groups. Experts like McKinley-Beach say the drug could be an important tool in helping curb the spread of the virus.

You can read more about the study here

Advocates Spotlight

WACI Health's youth leadership and advocacy program recently onboarded a new cohort of mentees. This program aims at creating a cadre of high quality and impact youth advocates. Our current cohort has young people from different African countries who meet online twice a week for mentorship. The program involves regularly bringing in mentors and experts to speak on and share their experiences. Meet Brenda Bonareri, who is an HIV prevention advocate based in Kenya.

Brenda is currently an intern at WACI Health. She is interested in data analysis, policy research, and analytical writing. She specializes in health policy research, diligently identifying gaps to inform strategic improvements. Brenda holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Nairobi, underscoring her commitment to advancing healthcare solutions with a strong analytical foundation. She has been in the Health advocacy space for the past 5 months. She was involved in the Bridge for better health program; a program under WACI Health and several partners that seeks to bridge the gap between SRHR/HIV Prevention within the UHC context. Brenda would like to gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a good advocate, and believes her interests in research and policy will be a great addition to the mentorship program.

Opportunities

Call for expressions of interest to serve 2024-2026 United Nations WHO Youth Council (Fully-funded and open to youth worldwide)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is excited to announce the opening of the application process for the second term of the WHO Youth Council, scheduled to run from 2024 to 2026. This is a unique opportunity for organizations worldwide to contribute to global health initiatives by engaging in meaningful youth-focused discussions and activities. WHO invites eligible organizations to submit their expressions of interest and encourages all applicants to review the provided instructions and eligibility criteria carefully

We are asking all WHO Youth Council members to be a part of the WHO Civil Society Commission. If your organization is not yet a member, please submit your application here in addition to submitting your expression of interest for the WHO Youth Council.

Application process

Interested organizations are required to complete the online application form available at WHO Youth Council Application Form.