Prioritise health workers and slums in HIV vaccine – lobby

Lenacapavir drug /HANDOUT

A slum-based healthcare rights organisation wants the new HIV prevention drug to be first rolled out in poor neighbourhoods to bear much of the epidemic’s brunt.

The lobby also wants healthcare workers to be the first to receive it.

Kibera-based CFK Africa, an international nonprofit organisation, says deprived neighbourhoods should be prioritised in distributing the vaccine.

CEO Jeffrey Okoro says the introduction of the new HIV prevention and treatment injection, Lenacapavir, could protect vulnerable communities and the health workers.

Okoro, who grew up in Kibera, says the drug’s dosage of two times a year makes it particularly suited for areas where daily medication routines are difficult to maintain.

“Healthcare workers in Kenya and other African countries face high exposure risks of HIV due to their jobs, especially maternity staff,” he said.

“They will be among the first to benefit from this new preventative HIV medication, as they are a small and easy-to-identify group and can receive the twice-yearly shot through their work.”

Lenacapavir has drawn international attention for its long-acting protection and effectiveness.

Unlike traditional pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) tablets, which must be taken daily, Lenacapavir is injected just twice a year. It works by blocking the HIV capsid—the protein shell surrounding the virus—stopping it from replicating in the body.

Okoro says prioritising healthcare workers in the rollout will protect those most at risk of occupational exposure.

“After years of working on the frontlines of the response to the Aids crisis, these healthcare workers will have much safer working conditions,” he said.

Kibera has been one of the hardest-hit areas by HIV in Nairobi. High population density, limited access to health services and poverty have long compounded the spread and impact of the virus.

According to Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council, Nairobi county has one of the highest numbers of people living with HIV, with informal settlements accounting for a significant share.

Okoro says targeting high-risk, low-income communities in the initial rollout will ensure those who have historically faced barriers to treatment are not left behind.

“The communities that have carried the greatest burden should be among the first to benefit from innovations that make HIV prevention simpler and more effective,” he said.

For CFK Africa, which started more than two decades ago as a small youth-led initiative in Kibera, the fight against HIV remains central to its mission.

The organisation runs health programmes, youth leadership training and research partnerships that address public health gaps in urban slums across East Africa.

Okoro acknowledges that challenges remain, including drug availability, cost and distribution logistics, particularly in public health facilities.

But he believes piloting Lenacapavir among healthcare workers and slum communities would be a manageable and impactful start.

“Although there are still logistical questions on how to distribute this drug more broadly, protecting healthcare workers from HIV transmission will be one of the initial major successes,” he said.

For Okoro, the issue is both professional and personal. Growing up in Kibera, he witnessed families struggle with the effects of HIV and saw young people lose parents and futures to the disease. 

Today, as he leads an international nonprofit rooted in that same community, he hopes Lenacapavir’s arrival will mark a turning point.

“This is about giving hope where the epidemic hit hardest,” he said. “For the health workers and the people they serve, this could be the protection they’ve waited for.”