Kenya recorded 42,000 new HIV infections in 2019, a report has revealed.
The Global Policy Report indicates that this was a decrease of 30 per cent since 2014.
According to the report, 0nly 74 per cent of people living with HIV were on ARVs in the same year.
Another 63 per cent of Children are on antiretroviral treatment.
This the report further indicates was an increase of 22 per cent from 52 per cent in 2014.
As a result, Kenya doers do not meet targets for the 90/90/90 goals.
Out of the 33 international HIV policies, Kenya has adopted only 20 with three being partially adopted, nine policies yet to be adopted and data not available for one policy.
There are about 1.5 million people living with HIV in the country with a 4.5 per cent HIV prevalence in adults aged between 15-49 years.
Kenya recorded some 21,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019.
Kenya has the joint third-largest HIV epidemic in the world alongside Tanzania.
The first case of HIV in Kenya was detected in 1984 and in the mid-1990s, HIV was one of the major causes of illness in the country, putting huge demands on the healthcare system as well as the economy.
In 1996, 10.5 per cent of Kenyans were living with HIV, although prevalence has almost halved since then, standing at 5.9 per cent by 2015.
This progress is mainly due to the rapid scaling up of HIV treatment and care.
In 2016, 64 per cent of people living with HIV were on treatment, 51 per cent of whom were virally suppressed.
UNAIDS report on the global Aids epidemic shows that 2020 targets will not be met because of deeply unequal success; Covid-19 risks blowing HIV progress way off course.
The report launched in July indicated missed targets have resulted in 3.5 million more HIV infections and 820,000 more Aids-related deaths since 2015 than if the world was on track to meet the 2020 targets.
The report dubbed ‘Seizing the moment’, warns that even the gains made could be lost and progress further stalled if countries fail to act.
“Every day in the next decade decisive action is needed to get the world back on track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Millions of lives have been saved, particularly the lives of women in Africa. The progress made by many needs to be shared by all communities in all countries. Stigma and discrimination and widespread inequalities are major barriers to ending Aids. Countries need to listen to the evidence and step up to their human rights responsibilities,” said Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAids.
According to the report, only 14 countries have achieved the 90–90–90 HIV treatment targets including Eswatini, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, at 27 per cent in 2019, and which has now surpassed the targets to achieve 95–95–95.
The report said though millions of lives and new infections have been saved by the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy, some 690,000 people died of Aids-related illnesses last year and 12.6 million of the 38 million people living with HIV were not accessing the life-saving treatment.
Stigma and discrimination, together with other social inequalities and exclusion, are proving to be key barriers.
It said marginalised populations who fear judgment, violence or arrest struggle to access sexual and reproductive health services, especially those related to contraception and HIV prevention.
“Stigma against people living with HIV is still commonplace. At least 82 countries criminalize some form of HIV transmission, exposure or non-disclosure, sex work is criminalized in at least 103 countries and at least 108 countries criminalize the consumption or possession of drugs for personal use,” the report said.
This comes as first lady Margaret Kenyatta called for increased awareness and resources for the prevention and treatment of HIV, especially amongst the youth.
Margaret said there is further a critical need to put in more work to protect people living with Aids from stigma and discrimination.
In a statement to commemorate World’s Aids Day, the First Lady said there should be more collaboration, resource allocation and support through partnerships with national and international partners to scale up and expand access to prevent the spread of HIV to mothers, children and the youth.
She said through Beyond Zero, she committed to support Government efforts towards achieving its national targets to heed the global call towards ending HIV.
“I strongly advocate for zero new infections and zero mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” she said.
She added, “I continue to encourage mothers to attend at least four antenatal checks where they can receive free testing”.
The First Lady said the theme thus calls on everyone to come together as a community to scale up efforts towards ending the disease while protecting those living with it and shielding those who are most at risk.
“Our efforts have won us recognition on issues concerning the protection of women and children and the promotion of equal opportunities towards their health and development. Our efforts must not be eroded; our gains must continue towards the global end to HIV,” she said.