Get Guardian on GoogleU.S. approves cheaper generic HIV prevention injection for 120 countries
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Michael Gonzales, has called for deepened collaboration between the U.S. and Nigeria against cybercrime, sextortion and romance scams.
Gonzales, who has been in Abuja since October 20 over security priorities, said the meeting with the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), centred on measures to enhance cooperation against
cyber-enabled crimes.
Coinciding with Nigeria’s Cybercrime Awareness Week, he said the meetings also touched on expanding joint efforts against financially transnational cybercrimes.
Noting how cybercrime can cross borders in seconds, Gonzales challenged U.S. and its Nigerian counterparts to ensure that cooperation to fight such criminality also does the same.
“Recent extraditions showed that when both countries combine investigative, diplomatic and law-enforcement capabilities, international borders will not provide sanctuary to those who prey on our citizens”, he said.
Nigeria had extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the U.S. earlier in August for separate charges bordering on financially motivated sextortion cases involving American minors who died by suicide.
In his separate meeting with the EFCC, DAS Gonzales commended the agency as one of Africa’s most recognised economic crime enforcement agencies, with a record of high-profile prosecutions, asset recovery and public engagement.
“The EFCC’s partnership with the FBI shows what effective international law enforcement cooperation looks like – sharing information, identifying suspects, making arrests and working through complex extradition proceedings.
Going forward, Gonzales said that the U.S. and Nigeria have opportunities for deeper law enforcement cooperation through Information-sharing, faster advancement of cyber and financial intelligence into investigations, wider public awareness of sextortion and romance scams and continued growth of Nigeria’s investigative, prosecutorial and cybercrime-reporting capabilities.
Throughout his visit, Gonzales reiterated that the U.S. would not measure the strength of the collaboration simply by the number of programmes it funds but by focusing on outcomes.
MEANWHILE, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a cheaper generic version of lenacapavir, the world’s only twice-yearly HIV prevention injection, paving the way for its wider availability in 120 low- and middle-income countries.
The approval, announced yesterday by the manufacturer and organisations involved in accelerating the drug’s development, is expected to make the long-acting preventive medication more affordable and accessible, particularly in countries where the cost and demands of daily HIV prevention pills have limited uptake.
The generic injection is expected to cost about $40 per person yearly in eligible countries, the same as existing daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills. However, its twice-yearly administration offers a more convenient alternative, eliminating the need for users to remember to take medication every day.
The development comes amid the continuing global burden of HIV, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting that approximately 41 million people were living with the virus worldwide and 570,000 died from HIV-related causes last year.
Against this backdrop, advocates believe that making the injection available at a substantially lower price could expand access to preventive treatment among millions of people at risk.
The drug’s potential to improve HIV prevention has been demonstrated in two major clinical trials, in which it nearly eliminated new infections among participants at high risk of contracting the virus.
