Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of using (a) Lenacapavir, (b) other long-lasting HIV prevention drugs, (c) PrEP and (d) other daily HIV prevention drugs on levels of treatment uptake by (i) rural women and girls and (ii) other marginalised communities in Africa.

Long-acting technologies could be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most, including young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the most vulnerable and marginalised groups everywhere. Promoting choice is an important element of this.

We welcome the latest World Health Organisation guidelines announced this week recommending lenacapavir as an additional long-acting HIV prevention tool and long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine for long-acting HIV treatment. The UK continues to work closely with global partners to address regulatory, manufacturing, and affordability barriers to improve access to these technologies for those most at risk. This includes our support to Unitaid, the Global Fund, and towards research and development of the dapivirine ring.