logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
15m 34s

What changes can the new HIV/AIDS drug b...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

For years the fight against HIV/AIDS was fought with antiretroviral drugs.

But in October the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe announced that it had approved the use of a new medicine against HIV/AIDS.

CAB-LA is long-acting injectable cabotegravir with the aim of preventing HIV.

The World Health Organisation welcomed the step taken by Zimbabwe.

This is particularly important considering the high HIV prevalence rate in the southern African country.

The news of CAB-LA approval came shortly after a report published by the United Nations suggested that a young woman in Africa is infected every two minutes.

So will this new injectable drug make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigma that comes with taking antiretroviral drugs, taken in pill form?

Mpho Lakaje has been speaking to two men with long experience with the disease.

Farai Masekela is with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe and explained how this new drug works.

Ntimbwe Mpamba is 40 years old and has been HIV positive since birth. He shared his long journey living with the disease.

Up next
Oct 2025
Tanzanian elections: What issues are young people concerned about?
As Tanzania gears up for elections on 29 October, we hear from two young people about the issues that matter to them and whether youth concerns have been featured in the electoral campaigns.How a young Senegalese footballer's dream of joining a professional club ended in tragedy ... Show More
33m 44s
Oct 2025
Focus on Africa: Hundreds of stolen social media identities used to spread propaganda
A BBC investigation uncovers dozens of social accounts using stolen identities of Somali and Muslim influencers and posting political propaganda content. We hear more about what was uncovered and who might be behind this widespread operation.Chad’s parliament has overwhelmingly a ... Show More
32m 11s
Oct 2025
Focus on Africa Can DRC be declared ebola free?
The last ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been released from a treatment centre in Kasai province. Can the country now be declared free of this latest outbreak?What is behind the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea over control of the Red Sea ... Show More
29m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
The Pill that Helps Prevent HIV
<p>Were you aware there’s a medicine that with an extremely high degree of efficacy can prevent the spread of HIV? There is! There’s just one problem: It’s costly. … And not enough people know about it. … And many doctors don’t know enough about it. … And it’s the center of a pro ... Show More
43m 1s
Jul 2025
123: Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention
Drs. Anshel Kenkare and Mike Reid share a conversation about the incredible science and current context of lenacapavir for HIV prevention, which was recently approved by the FDA.Episodes | Consult Notes | Subscribe | Twitter | Merch | febrilepodcast@gmail.comFebrile is produced w ... Show More
34m 52s
Dec 2021
Covid: South Africa new cases double in 24 hours as Omicron spreads
The new coronavirus variant Omicron has now become dominant in South Africa and is driving a sharp increase in new infections, health officials say.The United Nations says Botswana has taken a significant step towards eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV. 
22m 2s
Nov 2022
Psychological nudges for HIV treatment
South Africa's anti-retroviral programme to treat HIV infection is the largest in the world with 5.5 million people in treatment. It’s transformed this disease from an automatic death sentence, to something that can be managed as a chronic illness and the government is determined ... Show More
26m 28s
Dec 2021
South Africa and Aids drugs
At the end of the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa were still dying from HIV/Aids because effective drug treatments were prohibitively expensive for a developing country. Under pressure from Aids activists, the government of Nelson Mandela took the big inter ... Show More
10m 7s
Dec 2012
Can we eradicate HIV?
Dr John Frater talks about his research into finding a cure for HIV. It is increasingly apparent that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may not be the long-term solution to the management of HIV infection, and that other avenues need to be explored. As a result of vari ... Show More
6m 19s
Jan 2012
How can we live with HIV?
Dr Lucy Dorrell tells us how our immune system controls HIV and how we can live with this virus. There are currently around 91,000 people in the UK living with HIV/AIDS. HIV is a challenging target for a vaccine because it can mutate its genetic makeup. Dr Lucy Dorrell aims to de ... Show More
3m 39s
Aug 2023
Preventing HIV’s Collateral Cardiovascular Damage
People living with HIV have increased risk for cardiovascular disease (and other diseases of aging) earlier in life than those without HIV. In this episode of “Intention to Treat,” researcher Steven Grinspoon describes a new strategy for preventing collateral damage. A full trans ... Show More
50m 40s