The State Department on Tuesday announced PEPFAR has delivered the first doses of a groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to two African countries.

The lenacapavir doses arrived in Eswatini and Zambia.

The State Department in September unveiled an initiative with Gilead Sciences to bring lenacapavir “to market in high-burden HIV countries.”

Lenacapavir users inject the drug twice a year.

The State Department in its September announcement noted everyone who participated in Gilead’s clinical trials remained HIV negative. It also said lenacapavir “has the potential to be particularly helpful for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, as it safely protects them during and after pregnancy to prevent mother-to-child transmission.”

“In our new America First Global Health Strategy, the Department of State is establishing a first-of-its-kind innovation fund to support American-led research, market-shaping, and other dynamic advancements in global health,” said PEPFAR on Tuesday in a press release.

“The arrivals of the first doses of lenacapavir in Eswatini and Zambia mark an important milestone in HIV prevention and reflect our commitment to supporting communities with the greatest need,” added Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day. “For the first time, a new HIV medicine is reaching communities in sub-Saharan Africa in the same year as its U.S. approval.”

The September announcement came against the backdrop of widespread criticism over the Trump-Vance administration’s reported plans to not fully fund PEPFAR and to cut domestic HIV/AIDS funding. The Washington Blade has previously reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to curtail services or even close because of U.S. funding cuts.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation on Nov. 18 released its 14^th annual Municipal Equality Index report showing that a record number of 132 cities across the country, including nine in Virginia and seven in Maryland, received the highest score of 100 for their level of support for LGBTQ equality through laws, policies, and services.

Among the D.C.-area cities and municipalities receiving a perfect score of 100 were Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County in Virginia and College Park, Bowie, Gaithersburg and Rockville in Maryland.

The city of Rehoboth Beach is listed as the only city or municipality in Delaware to receive a score of 100. Rehoboth city officials released a statement hailing the high score as a major achievement over the previous year’s score of 61, saying the improvement came through a partnership with the local LGBTQ advocacy and services group CAMP Rehoboth.

The  HRC Foundation, which serves as the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, includes the District of Columbia in a separate State Equality Index rating system under the premise that D.C. should be treated as a state and receive full statehood status.

In its 2024 State Equality Index report, D.C. and 21 states, including Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, were placed in the “highest rated category” called Working Toward Innovative Equality, which does not use a numerical score.

 “The 2025 MEI shows a record breaking 132 cities scoring the highest possible marks on the index, representing a combined population of approximately 49 million people,” the HRC Foundation said in a statement announcing the 2025 report.

“This high-water mark is critical as pressure continues from states that pass laws and policies that seek to shut transgender people – particularly trans youth – out of public life,” the statement continues. It adds that many cities that have put in place trans supportive laws and policies, including health insurance benefits, “are in many cases no longer able to provide that coverage in a meaningful way as a result of discriminatory decisions made by state legislatures.”

The statement goes on to say, “However, more cities than ever are doing what the MEI characterizes as ‘testing the limits of restrictive state laws’ – pushing back against various checks on municipal power or discriminatory state  laws – with nearly 70 cities doing so.” 

The HRC statement notes that this year’s Municipal Equality Index rated a total of 506 cities. It says that number includes the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the U.S., the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities that are home to the state’s two largest universities, and the 75 cities or municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples.

The report shows this year’s index rated 11 cities or municipalities in Virginia with the following rating scores: Alexandria, 100; Arlington County,100; Fairfax County, 100, Richmond, 100; Charlottesville, 100; Chesapeake, 80; Hampton, 100; Newport News, 100; Norfolk, 91, Roanoke, 100, and Virginia Beach, 100.

In Maryland a total of 10 cities were rated: Annapolis, 100; Baltimore, 100; Bowie, 68; College Park, 100; Columbia, 100; Frederick, 100; Gaithersburg, 100; Hagerstown, 75; Rockville, 100 and Towson in Baltimore County, 85.

A total of eight cities were rated in Delaware: Rehoboth Beach, 100; Bethany Beach, 51; Milford, 83; Dover, 69; Wilmington, 76; Newark, 72; Smyrna, 59; and Middletown, 64.

The full 2025 HRC Foundation Equality Index Report can be accessed at hrc.org.

Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates on Monday announced passage of a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman is among their 2026 legislative priorities.

State Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) has introduced the resolution in the chamber. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) is the sponsor of an identical proposal in the state Senate.

Both men are gay.

Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again this year.

Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot.

Democrats on Election Day increased their majority in the House of Delegates. Their three statewide candidates — Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi, and Attorney General-elect Jay Jones — will take office in January.

“Virginians elected the largest House Democratic Majority in nearly four decades because they trust us to fight for them and deliver real results,” said House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) on Monday in a press release that announced his party’s legislative priorities. “These first bills honor that trust. Our agenda is focused on lowering costs, lifting wages, expanding opportunity, protecting Virginians rights, and ensuring fair representation as Donald Trump pushes Republican legislatures across the country to manipulate congressional maps for partisan gain. House Democrats are ready to meet this moment and deliver the progress Virginians expect.”