…Sex Workers, Eligible Nigerians Scramble for Twice-Yearly HIV Prevention Injection as Stock-Outs Hit Pilot States
Sex workers and other eligible Nigerians are increasingly seeking access to Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable drug used to prevent HIV infection, as supplies run out at some health facilities participating in Nigeria’s pilot HIV-prevention programme.
CDA News Nigeria reports that findings by Saturday PUNCH showed that Benue, Kwara, Gombe, and Cross River states have experienced stock-outs barely months after the rollout of the long-acting injection.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that in Cross River, health workers said demand had risen particularly among sex workers, who considered the injection more discreet and convenient than daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs. The situation contrasts sharply with Lagos, where health officials said there were more than enough doses but low uptake, prompting appeals for eligible residents to come forward for the injection.
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) linked some of the supply challenges to logistics and funding constraints, although it cautioned that stock-outs in individual states should not be interpreted as a nationwide shortage.
Lenacapavir is an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis drug developed by Gilead Sciences and recommended by the World Health Organisation as an additional HIV-prevention option. Administered once every six months, the injectable provides an alternative to daily oral pills and is intended to give eligible people another choice of prevention method. The WHO endorsed the drug in July 2025.
The Federal Government received 11,520 doses on March 19, 2026, and distributed them five days later to 10 pilot locations — Benue, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Gombe, Anambra, Ebonyi, Kano, Lagos, and the Federal Capital Territory.
Benue Exhausts Stock
In Benue State, more than 2,000 HIV-negative people have received Lenacapavir since its introduction in May, according to the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche. He said the initial allocation had been exhausted at participating health facilities amid growing enquiries and demand.
“However, this is a temporary stock situation, not a discontinuation of the programme. The Federal Government is already processing additional supplies, while the State Ministry of Health is working with the relevant national programme and partners to facilitate replenishment,” Ogwuche said
Kwara Awaits 1,000 Fresh Doses
Kwara State has also exhausted the doses allocated to it. The state AIDS Programme Coordinator, Muhammed Rasheed, said more than 1,000 additional doses were expected after the initial supply ran out about two weeks earlier. An assessment at Sobi Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, one of the designated facilities, showed that interested people could not access the drug because it was unavailable.
Funding Cuts, Logistics Fuel Shortage — NACA
NACA confirmed that Gombe State experienced some stock-out of Lenacapavir during the second quarter of 2026. The agency’s Zonal Coordinator for the North-East, Dr. John Tobias, said the situation did not necessarily indicate a nationwide shortage, explaining that logistics challenges could affect the movement of commodities from the national pool to states.
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