Zimbabwe launches lenacapavir as Kenya becomes fourth African country to start PrEP rollout
Lenacapavir was launched in Zimbabwe in February 2026 as Kenya became the fourth African country to start administering the twice-yearly HIV prevention injection. The rollout follows launches in Eswatini and Zambia in December 2025, five months after US FDA approval.
Lenacapavir (LEN) was launched in Zimbabwe in February 2026 as part of a broader African rollout that also saw Kenya become the fourth country in Africa to start administering LEN for PrEP. The injectable drug will be administered twice a year, and the United States plans to support 271,000 people in Zimbabwe and to prevent more than 9,000 new infections over the next three years through lenacapavir.
LEN was launched in Eswatini and Zambia in December 2025 — just five months after the drug received US FDA approval — and in Kenya and Zimbabwe in February 2026. In Kenya, LEN was described as the injection that offers near perfect protection against HIV and a breakthrough HIV prevention option scaling up at record speed.
In Zimbabwe, the rollout was described as a decisive moment in decades of U.S.–Zimbabwe cooperation on HIV. The injectable drug, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, is expected to improve adherence, particularly among young women, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and other at-risk populations.
The United States remains the largest donor to Zimbabwe’s health sector and has provided more than US$1.9 billion in taxpayer funding to combat HIV and AIDS in the country. The support has helped Zimbabwe surpass the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, a global benchmark that measures the percentage of people living with HIV who know their status, are on treatment, and have achieved viral suppression.
As implementation continues and more countries receive supplies, countries and communities need ongoing support to ensure LEN is delivered with speed, scale and equity, alongside other available PrEP options, to those who need it most. An independent, Kenya-based nonprofit organization, Access Bridge, was introduced to advance timely, sustainable and equitable introduction of and access to HIV prevention, sexual reproductive health and related health products.