To combat the HIV epidemic, South Africa will adopt vaginal rings

With the help of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, three important organisations in South Africa involved in preventing and treating HIV, Beyond Zero, and Networking HIV & AIDS Community of Southern Africa, have placed an initial order of 16,000 Dapivirine Vaginal Rings for HIV prevention.

This was revealed on Friday in a news release from the Global Fund.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis rings, which are made of silicone, are put into the vagina on a monthly basis to provide long-lasting, topical, and localised HIV prevention.

The only PrEP ring authorised for HIV prevention by regulatory bodies is the DVR.

The introduction of the PrEP ring in South Africa, according to the Global Fund, will provide women more options than oral PrEP, which frequently falls short of meeting the individual needs of all those who wish to take it.

The organisation made a point of pointing out that some individuals might decide against using oral PrEP because they have trouble adhering to a regimen or would rather utilise a more covert method.

In the HIV preventive Choice Manifesto for Women and Girls in Africa issued earlier this month, increasing HIV preventive options, including the PrEP ring, is a major demand from advocacy groups.

Executive Director of the Global Fund Peter Sands stated that “women’s health advocates have long championed the need for a discrete product that women exclusively control.” “We are convinced that this new PrEP ring can have a revolutionary impact on HIV prevention,” the statement continued. “For this reason, we hope that many more countries will follow South Africa’s move.”

As part of a combination of preventative strategies, the World Health Organisation conditionally approved the DVR in January 2021 for women who have a high risk of contracting HIV.

Ntombenhle Mkhize, CEO of the AIDS Foundation of South Africa, said: “We need to give women more control over their health and bodies.” “Women need to have access to a variety of safe and effective options to choose from, including the dapivirine ring, so they can choose to use what is most effective for them, at different times of their lives,” says the author.

The Global Fund also noted that male partners frequently regulate condom use as an HIV prevention measure. Women are given a private and personal HIV prevention strategy because they can insert the PrEP ring themselves.

“The ring also removes the need to carry pills, which may provide privacy issues, and doesn’t require daily pill-taking, which some people find challenging.

The Acting Chief Director for HIV/AIDS at the National Department of Health in South Africa, Dr. Thato Chidarikire, stated that “some women may prefer the ring to taking a daily PrEP pill for a variety of reasons.” “Remembering to take a tablet each day can be challenging, and some women feel unable to do so because of HIV-related stigma or because their partners or family members don’t want them to. A supply of rings can be obtained by women, who can use them at home, as opposed to PrEP injections, which must be administered at a clinic every other month.

“The large contributions made in South Africa by the Global Fund are intended to cement hard-won victories against HIV and tuberculosis and to support ongoing efforts to continue to slant the curve of new infections and deaths for both illnesses.

With over 8 million HIV-positive persons, South Africa has the world’s worst HIV epidemic. The nation continued to have the highest number of new HIV infections worldwide (almost 160,000) in 2022, despite a decline in new infections.

“South Africa has made strides in the detection and diagnosis of HIV, with 94% of those living with the virus knowing their status in 2022.

According to the report, “new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have decreased each year since the mid-2000s, and 75% of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2022.”