As HIV experts and activists gather at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico to discuss the global HIV pandemic, Merlin learns that HIV prevalence rates have significantly increased in Kenya in east Africa.
A survey recently released by the Ministry of Health shows that HIV prevalence rates have increased from 5.1 per cent in 2006 to 7.4 per cent. This sharp increase came as a surprise to many, as statistics were showing a downward trend, with prevalence rates decreasing from 9 per cent in 1997/8 to 6.7 per cent in 2003.
It is suggested that this increase is linked to a positive factor - HIV-positive people are living longer, as a result of increased access to care and treatment. By June 2008, 54 per cent of HIV-infected adults who were in need of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) were receiving it, compared to only 35 per cent in September 2007.
But lack of knowledge and awareness of HIV/Aids is also a crucial factor behind the high numbers of new HIV infections. Merlin’s country director in Kenya, Mr Wubeshet Woldemariam says: “People don’t understand the risks of unprotected sex. For example, less than 50 per cent of HIV-positive young people have ever used condoms. And people are not getting themselves tested.” The Kenya Aids Indicator Survey stated that four out of five people who are infected with HIV do not know their status.
According to the survey, Nyanza Province, where Merlin is implementing HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB projects, has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country at 15.4 per cent. Because the prevalence rates are so high in the Province, Merlin is educating those who are most vulnerable to HIV/Aids, including bus and taxi drivers and beach communities. But it is an ongoing challenge.
Mr Woldemariam adds: “We have to increase awareness and knowledge among communities about HIV/Aids, encourage more people to wear condoms and improve access to voluntary counselling and testing services.”
“People have to travel huge distances to get themselves tested,” says Mr Woldemariam. “They have to pay for transport that they can ill afford, and in addition, often have to pay for accommodation overnight.” People not knowing their status is one of the greatest barriers to preventing the spread of HIV.
Accessing testing facilities is also a particular problem in the Rift Valley Province, where prevalence rates have also increased. Merlin is running mobile voluntary counselling and testing clinics in Turkana to ensure as many people get them themselves tested as possible.
Merlin is scaling up its programmes on HIV education for prevention and voluntary counselling and testing, working closely with the Ministry of Health and the National Aids Control Council, but Mr Woldemariam adds: “In order to significantly scale-up HIV interventions in Kenya, we need extra resources, including funding. Everybody - the international community, the people of Kenya, the government and NGOs, has a key role to play in the fight against the spread of HIV. It is only by pulling our resources together that we can win the fight against HIV/Aids and hopefully reduce the numbers of people affected by the disease.”
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Photo gallery: Pushed to the brink by HIV