Sahir warns Liverpool City Region must not be left behind after NICE decision on twice-yearly HIV prevention injection

10 September 2026

Liverpool HIV charity Sahir has expressed deep disappointment after NICE recommended against making twice-yearly injectable PrEP available for HIV prevention.

Lenacapavir is a long-acting form of PrEP which requires an injection just twice a year. PrEP – pre-exposure prophylaxis – prevents HIV-negative people from acquiring HIV when taken correctly.

Sahir, which has supported people living with and affected by HIV across Merseyside for more than four decades, says greater choice in HIV prevention is essential if the UK is serious about ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.

For some people, taking regular tablets is difficult. Others may struggle to attend sexual health services frequently, experience stigma around taking PrEP medication or simply find that the existing options do not work for their lives.

A twice-yearly injection could remove many of those barriers.

Simon Harris, Chief Executive of Sahir, said:

“PrEP has transformed HIV prevention, but it only works as a public health intervention if people can actually access it and use it in a way that works for them.

“Twice-yearly injectable PrEP could be genuinely transformational. Six months between doses means fewer appointments, no daily tablets and significantly more choice.

“Here in Liverpool City Region, we should be making HIV prevention easier to access, not putting new barriers in the way.

“If we are serious about ending new HIV transmissions by 2030, we cannot rely on one solution for everybody. We need a toolbox of prevention options that reflects the very different lives people lead.

“I would urge NICE, NHS England and Gilead to get back around the table and find a way forward. Cost matters, but so does the cost of failing to prevent HIV.

“We have come an extraordinary distance in the fight against HIV. This is not the moment to slow down.”

The decision comes just days before Sahir launches its new Liverpool City Region PrEP awareness campaign, Sex Happens. PrEP Helps – Local Faces, Real Stories, at Crosby Library at 6pm on Tuesday 15 September.