The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu , Sunday News Reporter
HEALTHCARE workers in Matabeleland South Province have been the first to complete training on the administration of injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Zimbabwe.
The province is among the three to kick-start the programme. The other two are Harare and Masvingo.
The drug, an ARV designed to suppress any infection as it occurs, is for HIV-negative people who have a high risk of becoming infected with the virus.
It is the third pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) product to be introduced in demonstration sites under a study for catalysing access to new prevention products to stop HIV.
Speaking during a media workshop in Chinhoyi organised by the National Aids Council (Nac) last week, the Health and Child Care Ministry’s director for the HIV and Aids and TB Unit, Dr Owen Mugurungi said the training of healthcare workers in Matabeleland South was complete, with the province being one of only three that would have the injectable PrEP available in the initial phases of rollout.
Dr Mugurungi said that injections would start getting administered at the end of this month or the start of the next.
“It’s not available everywhere but it will be available in Mat South, Masvingo and Harare. We have selected facilities in those three provinces.
“As we learn and go on, we will expand to other provinces. The issue now is that we are training the healthcare providers. I can tell you that we are finished with Mat South. This week we are in Masvingo and we are hoping that next week we will be in Harare.
“But the thinking is that by the end of this month, or early next month, we would have started giving out the injections. We just want to ensure that we standardise everything,” he said.
Dr Mugurungi said Matabeleland South had been prioritised because the province still displayed a high HIV prevalence rate. Similarly, Harare and parts of Masvingo were HIV hotspots.
He acknowledged that the programme was supposed to cover the whole country in the future.
“Why Masvingo, Mat South and Harare? Mat South is one of the provinces with the highest HIV prevalence rates. In Masvingo there’s a certain place along the highway to Beitbridge that is a hotspot and of course, Harare has a huge number of people that acquire the virus despite the lower prevalence rates.
“There is scope to expand to other provinces, depending on how we utilise the first 4 000 doses.
“Of course, our partners are also monitoring how the process goes. So far, we have gone to places where the department is already working but also places where there’s higher activity and therefore, greater risk of people acquiring HIV. So, we look at data to pinpoint the hotspots in the country.
“We are hoping that we will be able to cover the whole country,” he said.
Dr Mugurungi said the introduction of the injectable PrEP was expected to boost the numbers of people on antiretroviral medication, as it was a more convenient method of administering treatment.
Initially, a person is meant to receive an intramuscular (IM) injection of cabotegravir in two consecutive months. After that, they will receive an IM injection of cabotegravir one time every two months.
“Since 2016, this country has been providing antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of HIV acquisition.
“That is PrEP. The huge challenge we faced with that is you have to take it daily. The challenges involved with that is that sometimes you forget, sometimes you lose them or you cannot take them freely so you hide them.
“So, over the years we have been trying to develop something that could be used as a weekly injection or as a weekly pill or as an injection you can take monthly or around halfway through the year.
“We still look forward to something happening along those lines,” he said.
However, Dr Mugurungi cautioned that those who took doses of the injectable PrEP should be strict to the guidelines to ensure its effectiveness.
“You get the first injection and for it to be therapeutic you have to have the second injection in the following month and get an injection every two months thereafter.
“If you stop after two months, the protective levels in your blood go down. So, you’ll not be protected but the injection remains in your blood for six months.
“So if you missed a dose, it means we have to get you back on oral tablets,” he said.
