The Kenya government received it’s country progress report from the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS for the period January 2006 to December 2007. The report questions the sustainability of Kenya anti-retro viral programme because it is mostly funded by development partners.
In addition to that, Kenya’s allocation for 2007-8 is only USD$7.7 million while demand for anti-retro virals is on the increase.
The report calls for a predictable and sustainable anti-retro viral treatment programme.
Highlights:
- prevalence rates are falling after peaking between 1997-1998 when rate of infection among adults was 10%, but mortality rates have almost doubled since 1998
- 56% of children needing anti-retro viral treatment get it
- Males with HIV on anti-retro viral treatment – 35%
- Females with HIV on anti-retro viral treatment – 65%
- Only 25% of patients with tuberculosis who test positive for HIV receive anti-retro viral treatment
- Although Kenya does not recognise same-sex marriage or commercial sex workers, these high risk groups pose among the greatest challenges to HIV treatment programmes in Kenya. Others are migrant workers and drug users, especially those that inject themselves
- Infection rates in urban areas is 8.3% while in rural areas it is 4.0%. The rate at which prevalence is dropping though, is faster in urban areas than in the rural areas
-Young girls are 5.5 times as likely as boys their age to become infected
- There are 1.1 million HIV positive people in Kenya. Of these, 18% are either children (0-15) or older adults (50+)
Download the full report here
Filed under: NEWS HEADLINES | Tagged: 2008, Assembly, General, HIV country report, Session, Special, un
