Reflections on World AIDS Day

And as the country marked World AIDS Day in all counties, a lot was boiling under the bridge with the devolution crisis   in the Ministry of  Health being the most current hindrance to the fight against AIDS with health workers threatening to strike if all health services do not remain a central government affair as it is a national disaster.

Reports from Kenya Aids Indicator Survey(KAIS) 2012 reveals that children as young as 10 years are engaging in early sex increasing the percentage of HIV infections through risky sex behaviour.KAIS also puts Nyanza as the leading in people living with HIV while Nairobi, Coast and some parts of Rift Valley showing high reduction in the same.

The Standard yesterday reported that HIV is the most highly funded disease in Kenya at an estimate of sh 40 billion annually with 95% being donations which is a fact that highlights the need to reduce HIV infection in the country amidst the challenges surrounding the disease being supersistion,religious ignorance, denial, and fear of testing.

An interview with Helen Lukakha Irusa from AMPATH asserts that Kenya is among the leading countries when it comes to AIDS awareness but poor in taking responsibility for their health thus with new policies like the mandatory HIV testing for pregnant mothers at hospitals are just among the many avenues that can aid in encouraging Kenyans to take control of their lives besides the traditional ABC policy. Being in the 21st century does not rule out the startling realities that Kenyans are still in denial and think AIDS is witchcraft related, that they cannot get the disease ,that once one is tested then that’s it and they are safe or the worse being that AIDS is just like Malaria and that one can die anyway, from an accident so no need to accrue the disease with the seriousness that it needs.

The good news from KAIS is that there is a 6% reduction of HIV infection in the country and shows that if we all do more  the number can go a notch higher. David Cunningham, one of the founders of Family Impact, puts it in perspective when he says that 'even if everyone lived right,HIV will still be here in 20 years' which is true in the sense that it is just not about preventing new infections but also taking care of the already infected over time. So let us forget the popular life principle of 'everyone for themselves and God for us all' as  whether we are infected or not as all of us are affected by HIV one way or the other.

Margaret C Tanui

Health writer