War on HIV requires a new national strategy

Kenya today joins the international community to mark the World Aids Day, which is observed every year to focus attention on a scourge that has defied medical innovation. Much has been achieved in the fight against the pandemic since it was first discovered in the 1980s, but the challenges of its infection and affliction persist. About 1.6 million people live with HIV in Kenya, even though the annual infection rates have substantially dropped from 66,000 a decade ago to 46,000 now. Prevalence stands at 4.9 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent 10 years ago, and the uptake of antiretroviral drugs has risen to about 70 per cent of the infected, reducing deaths related to the  virus by more than half, to 25,000, in 2017. Similarly, several campaigns have seen a drastic reduction in the number of HIV/Aids orphans, from 2.3 million in 2010 to two million in 2017.

Clearly, the impact of the devastation is being mitigated, which is not to say we have achieved some level of comfort. There is still every reason to be worried. Infections and prevalence are concentrated in just eight counties, namely: Nairobi, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Kiambu, Kakamega and Mombasa, which together account for more than half of all infected people in the country. Yet interventions have been concentrated in those areas, which means something is not right. More targeted and result-oriented strategies are required to tackle the epidemic in those regions.

Broadly, the national campaigns should shift from awareness creation to behaviour change. This is particularly crucial, given the fact that high rates of new infections are being recorded among the youth – those aged between 15 and 24, who ordinarily are knowledgeable as they are exposed to literature and information through various platforms.

This year’s theme, ‘Communities Make the Difference’, is apt as HIV/Aids is both a medical and social problem. The cost of keeping those infected with the virus is enormous and requires communal support, while home-based care and other interventions are beyond individuals.

For Kenya, the theme has been domesticated thus: ‘Towards UHC: Communities for an HIV-free Generation’, which underscores the point that local initiatives in the health sector must integrate the fight against the menace, for it is easy to be swayed by new fads and forget old afflictions. The rallying call is that we need more resources and energy to eliminate HIV/Aids.