MSF hands over first long-acting HIV prevention project in Beira to the Mozambique Ministry of Health

Country: Mozambique Source: Médecins Sans Frontières BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE, 22 May 2026 – This week, the roll-out of a game-changing new HIV prevention method, cabotegravir (CAB-LA), will start in Beira through the Ministry of Health. This follows early results from an implementation study by Doctors without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offering CAB-LA to people at risk of HIV, including men who have sex with men, sex workers and transgender people, which is expected to conclude in June 2026. CAB-LA is an injection, administered every two months, which has been proven to be highly effective at preventing HIV. It is considered as a potential game-changer because it removes the need to take a PrEP pill every day to prevent HIV – something that is often difficult for people who move frequently or face privacy concerns or stigma. CAB-LA addresses these practical challenges by offering an effective prevention method that does not require a daily pill or storing medication at home, giving people discretion and options in how they manage their health. "Our objective was to demonstrate that this prevention tool could be effectively provided to the groups who face the highest barriers to care," said Dr Antonio Flores, a senior HIV advisor at MSF’s Southern Africa Medical Unit and the study’s lead investigator. “Preliminary data from the Beira study shows that CAB-LA can be successfully implemented in this setting, and in fact that people on CAB-LA are at least twice as likely to continue on it than they are on oral PrEP, meaning they are protected from HIV for longer.” With the programme's viability established, MSF will provide a donation of 675 doses of CAB-LA stock to Mozambique’s Ministry of Health and after a period of providing training and technical support, is handing over the delivery of CAB-LA in Beira. "This tr...

Original source: Relief Web