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Eastern Cape launches HIV prevention injection strategy in Nelson Mandela Bay

Published

Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa launched the Lenacapavir HIV Prevention and Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy in KwaNoxolo on Tuesday. She said the province has started approximately 3 500 people on the twice-yearly injection and urged young people and sex workers to use it.

Lenacapavir is given twice a year, approximately six months apart. Capa said HIV-negative people will get the injection at public facilities. She said the province has enough doses and that donor support helped make the rollout possible, as the medicine is expensive.

Capa said the injection means people no longer have to take tablets every day. She said: "It is groundbreaking for us because now you are no longer going to take tablets every day." She said the province has a list of facilities that offer the service.

Thsonono Buyeye, the Nelson Mandela Bay MMC for Public Health, said lenacapavir is a prevention medicine. He said it is not a vaccine and not a treatment for people living with HIV.

The strategy also covers cervical cancer. The National Department of Health targets 2030 to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem.

Key facts

Who
Ntandokazi Capa (Eastern Cape provincial Health MEC); Thsonono Buyeye (Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality MMC for Public Health); Babalwa Lobishe (Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor)
What
Provincial Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa launched the Lenacapavir HIV Prevention and Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy in KwaNoxolo, Nelson Mandela Bay, and called on residents to access lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection. The province has initiated approximately 3 500 people on the medicine.
When
20 October 2026
Where
KwaNoxolo, Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape
Status
Reported

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