A scientific breakthrough only matters if people can access it.
In a new opinion piece for Bhekisisa, Aurum Group Chief Operating Officer Prof Vinodh Edward looks at what it will take for lenacapavir (LEN), the twice-yearly HIV prevention injection, to become more than a scientific success — and what South Africa can do to help shape its future.
His argument goes beyond the medicine itself. It speaks to the need for African scientific leadership, stronger local research and implementation capacity, sustainable financing and greater regional manufacturing capability.
For countries carrying a significant burden of HIV, the opportunity is not simply to adopt new technologies developed elsewhere. It is to help shape how they are researched, delivered, financed and made accessible.
This is part of a broader conversation Prof Edward has been championing around the role of African researchers in shaping the policies and decisions that determine how health innovations reach people.
Read Prof Vinodh Edward’s full opinion piece in Bhekisisa:
Would homegrown LEN cost more? Why SA should still make the HIV prevention jab