Pecohub The Federal Government has taken delivery of the first consignment of lenacapavir injection doses aimed at strengthening HIV prevention efforts in the country.
The shipment, received on Wednesday at the Federal Central Stores in Oshodi, Lagos, forms part of a Global Fund-supported initiative under which Nigeria is set to receive a total of 52,000 doses in three batches.
Speaking at the handover, Mohammed Patiko, Head of Procurement and Supply Chain Management at the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), confirmed that 11,520 doses were delivered as the first tranche.
“We are here to receive the first tranche of a total of 52,000 doses of the lenacapavir injection, donated by the Global Fund to Nigeria as one of the nine adopted countries in the world,” Patiko said.
He explained that the remaining doses would arrive in two subsequent batches scheduled for May and October. According to him, the injection is a preventive intervention designed to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection.
The programme targets high-risk groups, including serodiscordant couples, key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), and transgender persons, as well as individuals with elevated vulnerability to HIV exposure.
Patiko added that the injections would be administered free of charge to enrolled participants as part of a national pilot and research programme. The rollout will be conducted through designated health facilities across eight pilot states, including Kwara, Gombe, Ebonyi, Anambra, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Benue.
