Injectable HIV drug expected in 2023

By Francis Lubega

13^th Jan 2022

Government is optimistic that People Living with HIV/AIDs will have an option of switching to the injectable HIV drug by 2023 once approved for usage.

Appearing before the Presidential Affairs Committee of Parliament with other officials to defend the 2022/2023 national budget framework paper, Dr. Nelson Musoba, the Director General of Uganda Aids Commission –UAC has said there is advanced research on the injection that will be used for treatment of HIV/AIDs that has already been approved in some countries.

He says that people living with HIV will have a choice to choose whether to switch to the injectable drug or remain on tablets known as ARVs.

Musoba however urged patients living with HIV not to lose hope about the lengthy time it has taken for the discovery of HIV/AIDs vaccines, saying that although pharmaceutical companies were able to come up with Covid-19 vaccines within a year and both are viruses, the character of HIV/AIDs are different from Covid-19.

In the 2022/2023 national budget, the Uganda Aids Commission has been allocated with Shs10.680Bn and of this, Shs1.320Bn will cover wages, while Shs7.510Bn will cover non-wage while Shs1.850Bn has been reserved for capital development.

The Commission has however been left to grapple with a funding gap to a tune of Shs10Bn, with some of the unfunded priorities including HIV/AIDs research and advocacy that has a funding gap of Shs3.4Bn.