By Michael Gwarisa Following the delivery of injectable Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) doses, Zimbabwe through the Maximizing Options to Advance Informed Choice for HIV Prevention (MOSAIC) consortium, has launched stage 2 of the CATALYST study, introducing the newly approved injectable PrEP. The study is funded by funded by PEPFER through USAID. The CATALYST study was initially launched in 2023 where two PrEP methods — tenofovir-based oral pills and the dapivirine ring (PrEP ring) — were offered. The CATALYST sites remain the same six sites where stage 1 was conducted. These include…
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Zim among African countries to roll out Dapivirine Ring
By Staff Reporter Having sold over 113 000 dapivirine rings under the ‘DapiRing’ brand as of September this year, Zimbabwe having approved it, is among the African countries set to roll the product out. The dapivirine vaginal ring, an alternative HIV prevention method for women will be rolled out to fill this yawning gap where adolescent girls and young women are among the groups most at risk in sub-Saharan Africa. The antiretroviral ring is now approved or authorized for use in 11 countries in East and Southern Africa, according to a November…
Read MoreZim readies incorporation of Cabotegravir into local PrEP guidelines
FOLLOWING the approval for use of Cabotegravir (CAB-LA) in Zimbabwe by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) last year, the country is expected to have incorporated the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of this long-acting HIV preventive method into its own HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in June. By Kudakwashe Pembere That the WHO guidelines would be incorporated into Zimbabwe’s was revealed by renowned HIV Prevention expert Dr Nyaradzo Mgodi last week in a media science café organized by the Health Communicators Forum (HCF). Zimbabwe is the first African country to…
Read MoreHIV advocate Cathy Murombedzi upbeat about HIV cure
A bullish veteran journalist and Health Communicators Forum (HCF) vice chairperson Catherine Murombedzi is among the hopefuls who live to tell this tale. By Kudakwashe Pembere Seeing her feels like reliving the biblical times when Jews waited for the Messiah. Having kept her faith, Cathy is upbeat she will see the HIV cure in her lifetime. I am certain an HIV Cure is possible. There was no treatment at the onset of HIV in the early 1980s up to the 90s, but here we are today, there is anti-retroviral therapy,…
Read MoreOutcry As Major Funders Pull The Plug On Dapivirine Vaginal Ring Rollout
A cloud of uncertainty has gripped the envisaged roll-out of the Vaginal ring or Dapivirine ring in Sub-Saharan Africa amidst indications that two of the major funding partners,  the USAID and PEPFAR won’t be paying for the rollout of the ring but will now only support implementation studies. By Michael Gwarisa The development comes despite some progress that had been registered on the African continent where some governments had already approved use of the Dapivirine ring as a method of preventing new HIV infections in women. Zimbabwe and South Africa…
Read More#Breaking: Vaginal Ring for Women’s HIV Prevention Receives WHO Prequalification
SILVER SPRING, Md. (November 30, 2020)—The nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) is pleased to announce the World Health Organization’s (WHO) prequalification of the dapivirine ring, a monthly vaginal ring to reduce women’s HIV risk. This designation from the WHO confirms that the ring meets global standards for quality, safety and efficacy. The product’s addition to the WHO’s list of prequalified medicines will help guide national and global procurement decisions, pending country regulatory approvals for its use. The ring’s prequalification follows a positive scientific opinion for the product in July…
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