South Africa has teamed up with three key organisations namely; AIDS Foundation of South Africa, Beyond Zero, and Networking HIV & AIDS Community of Southern Africa to introduce vaginal rings in the latest move to combat the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the country.
This development was made public in a press statement by The Global Fund on Friday. With support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an initial order of 16,000 Dapivirine Vaginal Rings will be brought into the country as a means of HIV prevention.
“Women’s health advocates have long championed the need for a discreet product that women exclusively control,” said the Executive Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands. “We are convinced that this new PrEP ring can have a revolutionary impact on HIV prevention, and this is why we hope that many more countries will follow South Africa’s move,” it added.
The World Health Organisation had in January 2021 conditionally recommended the DVR as a safe and effective additional prevention choice for women at high risk of HIV infection as part of combination prevention approaches.
Uganda, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe have agreed to the use of the DVR, and other African countries have regulatory submissions under review.
“We need to give women more control over their health and bodies,” said the CEO of the AIDS Foundation of South Africa, Ntombenhle Mkhize. “Women need access to a range of safe and effective options to choose from, including the dapivirine ring, so they can decide to use what works best for them, at different times of their lives.”
The Global Fund added that the use of condoms as a form of HIV prevention is often controlled by male partners. Because women can insert the PrEP Vaginal rings themselves, it offers them a method of HIV prevention that is private and belongs to them.
It said, “The ring also eliminates the need to carry pills, which may pose challenges for privacy, and doesn’t require daily pill-taking, which some find difficult.
“Some women may prefer the ring to taking a daily PrEP pill for lots of reasons,” said the Acting Chief Director for HIV/AIDS at the National Department of Health in South Africa, Dr. Thato Chidarikire. “It can be hard to remember to take a pill every day, and some women feel unable to do so due to HIV-related stigma or because their partners or family members don’t want them to. PrEP injections are also becoming available, but these must be done at a clinic every other month, whereas women can get a supply of rings, then use them at home.”
“The Global Fund’s significant investments in South Africa aim to consolidate hard-won gains against HIV and tuberculosis and support efforts to continue to bend the curve of new infections and deaths for both diseases.
“South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world, with nearly eight million people living with HIV. While new infections have been declining, the country still had the largest number of new HIV infections globally (over 160,000) in 2022.
“South Africa has made progress toward finding and diagnosing HIV, with 94 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their status in 2022.
“Seventy-five per cent of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2022, and new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have decreased each year since the mid-2000s,” it said.