Demand for the newly introduced injectable HIV prevention medicine, Lenacapavir, has risen sharply in Kitgum District, with Kitgum General Hospital reporting that nearly all the doses it received have already been administered.
Adiga James, the officer in charge of chronic care at the hospital, said the facility received 30 doses of Lenacapavir in an earlier consignment and another 60 doses in the quarter that ended June 2026. By Friday, only one dose remained, showing growing interest in the long-acting HIV prevention option.
Lenacapavir is administered to people who test HIV-negative but are considered to be at substantial risk of acquiring HIV. The option is particularly intended for people at substantial risk of HIV infection, including discordant couples, long-distance truck drivers, sex workers and their clients, pregnant and breastfeeding women with HIV-positive partners, and men who have sex with men.
Clients are first tested and counselled, after which health workers assess their eligibility for the injection. The medicine is administered once every six months. Recipients are, however, required to return after one month for another HIV test to confirm that they remain HIV-negative.
Dr Alex Aboda Komakech, the senior hospital pharmacist, confirmed that the facility had exhausted its current stock but said more supplies were expected from the National Medical Stores (NMS).
“We are aware that our stocks are currently exhausted. But we have also received communications from National Medical Stores that they will deliver in two weeks,” Dr Komakech said, adding that there is no cause for panic.
Komakech attributed part of the increased demand to growing interest in the new prevention option but said inadequate information about the medicine remains a challenge. “Some people haven’t got the information. We need to give more information, so that those who have not yet heard get to know and come willingly to receive the service,” he said.
According to Komakech, Kitgum General Hospital is currently the only facility in the area providing Lenacapavir, while health facilities in neighbouring Lamwo and Pader districts do not have the medicine. He said the hospital is using community outreach programmes to reach eligible people who may be unable to travel to Kitgum town.
Thomas Ojok, the hospital administrator, said the rapid increase in demand indicates that a significant number of people in the hospital’s catchment area fall within categories considered at high risk of HIV infection. Ojok, however, cautioned recipients against viewing the medicine as a licence to engage in risky sexual behaviour.
“Yes, this hospital is providing the long-acting HIV prevention medicine, but it should not let people start getting involved in reckless sexual activity with the hope that they already have a prevention medicine. That should not be the case. What is important is that we should continue to live with dignity and respect,” he said.
He said the rapid consumption of the medicine should also prompt health authorities to examine the factors driving HIV risk in communities and strengthen other prevention strategies. “If we can get those things and meet the criteria and the medicine gets finished very fast, that means the behaviour in society is questionable,” Ojok said.
The hospital continues to provide other HIV prevention options, including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis and a vaginal ring, allowing eligible clients to choose the method that best suits their needs.
