Why can’t women access ‘game-changing’ HIV prevention?

Women in Sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to get HIV as men.

That’s why it was big news when the World Health Organisation approved a new method of HIV prevention in 2021: the dapivirine ring.

It’s a silicone band that women insert vaginally and can leave in for four weeks. The ring slowly releases dapivirine, an anti-retroviral drug that stops HIV in its tracks.

It’s been hailed as a game changer, but two years after the ring was approved, fewer than a thousand woman globally are using in. Those who can’t get it are starting to get frustrated.

So why are African governments so slow to introduce this new method of HIV prevention? When will women be able to access the dapivirine ring?

Presenter: Mpho Lakaje Guests: Shakirah Namwanje and Patriciah Jeckonoviah