Combating HIV/ AIDS in Kenya

Abstract

HIV/AIDS pandemic has emerged as one of the leading challenges to global public health and development. The report on the global AIDS epidemic shows that about 40 million people are currently living with the virus worldwide. Each year, five million people succumb to the disease. In Kenya, the first AIDS case was reported 1984. Latest reports indicate that at the end of 2003, 6.7 per cent of adults within 15-47 age bracket, or 1.2 million people are HIV positive. HIV prevalence is still increasing in many parts of Kenya. The national prevalence was estimated at 10.5 per cent during the year 2002, with major variations between different parts of the country. In some vulnerable population groups, HIV prevalence is as high as 35 per cent. Prevalence is consistently higher in urban (16.5 per cent) than in rural areas (12.5 per cent), but in terms of absolute total number of people infected, the effect is greatest on rural areas where over 80 per cent of the population live.