No daily pills, no daily reminder: HIV injections keep 95.5% of young South Africans suppressed

For a teenager, a daily pill is also a daily disclosure risk — a bottle that can out you. The AFINAty study in South Africa offered 134 young people aged 12 to 24, already stable on oral HIV treatment, a switch: two injections, cabotegravir and rilpivirine, every eight weeks instead. After 48 weeks, 95.5% had kept the virus suppressed, there were no confirmed cases of sustained loss of control, 97.5% of injections happened on schedule, and every one of the 132 young people who completed the final visit chose to stay on the injections. The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, which reported the findings, notes the treatment is registered in South Africa but not yet routine in public clinics — the study's community-based delivery is evidence for closing that gap.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation