(Ecofin Agency) - UNAIDS reported that in 2020, nearly 4,200 girls aged 15-24 were infected with HIV every week in sub-Saharan Africa. Although preventive solutions exist, the International Solidarity Organization UNITAID believes that oral medicines are not so well accepted by the population.

Only 1 million infected people have adopted the oral preventive drug, while the UN was targeting 3 million people by 2020. Hervé Verhoosel, UNITAID spokesperson, justified the situation by the fact that “people with HIV fear stigma, discrimination or intimate partner violence if they take the pill every day.”

In an attempt to provide an alternative that should be more widely accepted, the UN last week announced the rollout of an injectable preventive treatment in two countries, including South Africa, known to have the world's largest HIV epidemic. The new drug, called "Cabotegravir", offers two months of protection against HIV. It was developed by ViiV Healthcare and has been approved by the U.S. health authority. The solution is in line with the United Nations' goal of protecting 95% of people at risk by 2025.

In South Africa, the new drug will be targeted primarily at adolescent girls and young women. The beneficiaries will also benefit from the dapivirine vaginal ring. The latter “lasts 28 days, can be inserted at home, and is the first HIV prevention method a woman has complete control over,” UNITAID said.

Data from UNAIDS showed that 67% of people living with HIV worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa. By mid-2021, an estimated 28.2 million infected people had access to antiretroviral treatment.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu, intern