The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has announced that Nigeria will receive Lenacapavir, a new HIV prevention drug that showed 100 per cent effectiveness in clinical trials. The agency said the medication is expected to arrive in the country in March 2026.
In a statement released on Monday by its Head of Public Relations, Toyin Aderibigbe, NACA confirmed it has secured regulatory approval from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), clearing the way for its introduction.
Lenacapavir is an injectable drug administered twice a year, offering a more convenient option compared to daily oral HIV prevention pills. It will be used as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to help prevent new HIV infections.
According to NACA, the drug will be made available in Nigeria and 119 other low- and middle-income countries at an affordable cost of $40 per person annually. This follows voluntary licensing agreements with generic manufacturers aimed at widening access.
The agency said the Federal Government is already making preparations for the rollout of the drug as part of efforts to strengthen HIV prevention and speed up progress toward controlling the epidemic.
NACA also listed key steps already taken, including landscape and readiness assessments in ten states — Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, FCT, Gombe, Kano, Kwara and Lagos — alongside regulatory clearance by NAFDAC.
“The commodities are expected in the country in March 2026,” the agency stated.
Nigeria currently has about 1.9 million people living with HIV, with a national prevalence rate of 1.3 per cent among adults aged 15 to 49 years.
In 2021, the country recorded 74,000 new HIV infections and 51,000 AIDS-related deaths.
The South-South zone has the highest prevalence rate at 3.1 per cent, while women aged 15 to 49 are more than twice as likely to be living with HIV compared to men.