By Kouthar Sambo

A pilot project offering a new HIV prevention injection has seen a young person in Cape Town become one of the first people in the country to receive an injection outside of a clinical trial.

Speaking on VOC’s Drive Time on Thursday, a Social-Behavioural Scientist at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and Leader of the FastPrEP project, Ms Elzette Rousseau, said the aim is to prevent HIV.

“Those who do not have HIV and wish to prevent it can take the injection. The real game changer here is choice, as this is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to HIV prevention. People are different, their lifestyles are different, so we try to give different options and what fits their lifestyle best,” explained Rousseau.

“You go every two to three months for your injection, as taking a pill each day can be difficult. The only thing you need to ensure you are ready once every two months for your prevention injection” reiterated Rousseau.

According to Rousseau, the injection has been through numerous clinical trials and was South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved by the end of 2022.

“What we are doing now is rolling it out into the real world by going to the community and presenting this option so we can reach people who may be hesitant to go to the clinic and were not in a clinical trial,” detailed Rousseau.

“It has been agreed that we would like this injection to infiltrate the broader market as it is not widely available in the country yet. Our specific pilot is going to look at about 900 people, but we are not the only pilot in the country as there are approximately five pilots,” clarified Rousseau.

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