16 Jul 2025

There is a flicker of hope with the injectable antiretroviral medications (ARVs), Minister of Health, Dr Stephen Modise has stated.

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, he said that injectable ARVs could be utilised in Botswana before the end of 2025 after being approved for use in 2022.

He said however in 2022, the product was not available on the global market and research institutions had purchased most of the products available in the market, leaving very few for treatment programmes, a trend that continued until 2024.

Dr Modise said one of the companies responsible for the product distribution was in Botswana to inform treatment programme of the decision to withhold the product due to concerns that arose regarding one of the injections. He said as a result, the product had not been used since that time and thus resulted in a delay, adding though that there was a flicker of hope with injectable ARVs, particularly with a promising new product called lenacapavir, adding that the cabotegravir combination was also being revisited.

“However, it is unlikely that these injectable ARVs will be available in Botswana before the end of 2025,” he noted.

He stated that it was difficult to talk about opportunity costs related as injectable ARVs were not available in the market and oral formulations remained the only available option in the market at this time. The minister noted that there were significant benefits to a long-acting form of treatment, particularly regarding its frequency of medication, convenience and privacy. He noted that not having to take medication daily could be a significant relief for some individuals.

“And because injectable antiretroviral medications must currently be administered by a doctor or nurse, there is no need for you to store your own medication. This means you would not have to carry it around, and there is a reduced risk of others discovering your HIV status and therefore reduces stigma and discrimination,” he noted.

The minister was responding to the MP for Nkange, Mr Motlhaleemang Moalosi, who had asked the minister to update Parliament on the plans to introduce injectable antiretrovirals (ARVs) for treatment.

He also wanted the minister to provide further details on what caused the delays in introducing injectable ARVs, given that they were approved in 2022.

MP Moalosi also wanted to know the opportunity costs associated with these delays and significant benefits that can be realised from using injectable antiretrovirals (ARVs) instead of pills. ENDS