What to know
- Freddie has partnered with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to launch PrEP Onwards, a campaign connecting HIV prevention in North America with access to long-acting PrEP in Africa.
- For every person who starts PrEP through Freddie in Canada or the U.S., the campaign will fund one six-month dose of Lenacapavir for someone in Africa through CHAI’s government HIV-program partnerships.
- Lenacapavir is a long-acting form of HIV prevention administered by two injections a year.
- The initiative aims to address the gap between the rapid availability of new medical innovations in wealthier countries and delayed access in countries that face a significant burden of HIV.
A new initiative from 2SLGBTQIA+ healthcare platform Freddie is connecting HIV prevention in North America with access to long-acting HIV prevention in Africa, allowing one person’s decision to start PrEP to become an opportunity for someone else to access care.
Freddie, is a virtual healthcare provider focused on sexual health and the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Among its services, the clinic provides access to PrEP, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, a prescription medicine that helps those using it prevent contracting HIV. Freddie is one of PurposeMed’s healthcare brands.
The virtual clinic has partnered with the U.S.-based Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to launch the PrEP Onwards campaign. Through the new program, every person who starts PrEP through Freddie in Canada or the U.S. will fund one six-month dose of Lenacapavir for someone in Africa through CHAI’s existing partnerships with government HIV programs. Unlike PrEP, which comes in a pill taken daily, Lenacapavir is a long-acting form of HIV prevention that can protect with two injections a year.
Freddie co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Amaan Banwait shares that the partnership reflects a mission that was bigger than North America from the very beginning.
“Our mission at PurposeMed is to improve access to care for underserved communities,” Banwait told Queer & Now. “So that mission is super important in Canada, [which is] where we started and where we’re based, but this mission extends everywhere.”
Banwait describes the treatment as almost “like a vaccine against HIV,” with a booster required every six months. Freddie has been working to expand access to the treatment in Canada and the U.S., while CHAI has been working to advance access globally.
Improving access to Lenacapavir in lower- and middle-income countries
The difference between access in North America and many lower-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), however, is significant.
Banwait explained that the brand-name version of Lenacapavir is expensive in the U.S., while the manufacturer has licensed the medication to generic manufacturers so it can be made available at a fraction of the price in LMICs. CHAI has been working with generic manufacturers to increase demand and place larger orders, helping bring the lower-cost medication into countries where it is needed.
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A representative from CHAI told Queer & Now that access to medical breakthroughs and innovations often take decades longer in LMICs, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. CHAI explained that the campaign aims to combat this in that particular region, supporting the procurement of generic Lenacapavir to accelerate global access to long-acting HIV PrEP in targeted LMICs.
“Despite progress on this front, rapid and equitable access is not guaranteed,” the spokesperson shared in a statement, adding that this is true of Lenacapavir.
“Freddie’s leadership in PrEP provision in North America and willingness to commit to fund PrEP access in Africa presented a unique opportunity to accelerate the scale of access in countries that bear the greatest burden of HIV, and leverage Freddie’s innovative delivery expertise,” they explained.
CHAI shared that in 2025, there were 1.2 million new HIV infections, with an estimated 610,000 reported in sub-Saharan Africa.
PrEP Onwards will help support that process, including funding CHAI’s procurement of initial batches of the generic treatment. The treatment is currently available through CHAI in select African countries and is expected to become available through Freddie in Canada and the U.S. soon, according to Banwait.
“PrEP is needed globally”
For Banwait, the initiative is also about challenging the idea that HIV prevention is primarily a North American 2SLGBTQ+ issue.
“PrEP is needed globally,” he said, noting that the need and circumstances differ between countries but that there is significant need around the world.
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While Freddie has built its identity around serving the 2SLGBTQ+ community, the broader HIV epidemic affects people across populations and borders. PrEP, Banwait argues, should be understood as a prevention tool for anyone who could benefit from it.
The initiative comes as HIV rates in Canada have been on the rise. Banwait cited 2,517 new HIV infections in Canada in 2024, the latest figure he had available during the interview. He said that despite tools now available to prevent and treat HIV, infections are unfortunately on the rise.
That disconnect between increasingly effective prevention technologies and the people who still cannot easily access them is part of what PrEP Onwards is attempting to address. To learn more about PrEP Onwards or to access PrEP, visit the Freddie website.
