Zambia’s University of Zambia saw a surge of students lining up for lenacapavir, a twice‑yearly HIV shot that provides six‑month protection. Health workers pitched the new PrEP method on campus, sparking immediate uptake among young women who face the highest infection risk.

The drug, which earned 100 percent efficacy in 2024 trials, arrives as the U.S. State Department boosts funding to supply 3 million doses worldwide by 2028. Yet Zambia’s health system, weakened by last year’s aid cuts, struggles to maintain inventory, record‑keeping, and follow‑up for the six‑month schedule.

Gilead’s U.S. price tops $25,000 per patient annually, but generic licenses aim to bring the cost down to $40 per person by 2027. In the meantime, Gilead sells the drug at a no‑profit rate of about $100 per person per year, a figure that still strains limited national budgets.

Despite enthusiasm, staff shortages and supply uncertainty mean the new therapy may reach only a fraction of Zambia’s 1.4 million people living with HIV, limiting its impact on the national epidemic.