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| Afya house in Nairobi |
Kenya has signed six Global Fund grants amounting to Ksh59.7 billion (USD 407,989,068) to support fight against HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria.
The grants, which will be implemented from July 2024 to June 2027, aim to support intervention and strengthen health and community systems across the country.
The allocation includes USD 232,580,654 for HIV interventions, USD 72,934,665 for malaria, USD 67,785,529 for TB, and USD 34,688,220 for strengthening health systems.
“The Global Fund is a partnership between Governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by diseases designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria epidemics globally,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of Health.
Since its inception in 2003, the Global Fund has supported the procurement of commodities including Antiretrovirals (ARVS), HIV test kits, Condoms and Laboratory reagents.
The Fund’s support has enabled the procurement of critical commodities such as antiretrovirals (ARVs), HIV test kits, condoms, and laboratory reagents further contributing to programmatic interventions at both health facilities and community levels.
In addition, the country has witnessed a remarkable decline in HIV-related indicators: new infections have decreased by 78%, HIV-related mortality by 68%, and mother-to-child transmission by 65%.
“These significant reductions are due to increased access to HIV testing, treatment, and prevention services at community and facility level. Currently, nearly 1.4m Persons living with HIV are receiving lifesaving treatment at various facilities across the country,” said MOH.
The health ministry said the progress is attributed to the decentralization of HIV services and collaboration between Government, development Partners, non-state actors, stakeholders, counties and communities.
Further, the treatment success rate of TB has improved and currently stands at 86%, with the average positivity rate among TB presumptive cases dropping from 7.35% in 2021 to 5.6% in March 2024.
Additionally, the number of individuals tested for TB more than doubled from 245,902 in 2021 to 502,970 in March 2024.
In the fight against malaria, the national prevalence has declined from 8.2% in 2015 to 6% in 2023.
The Global Fund has also partnered with the government and provided support for the establishment of 1,933 community health units, training of 18,500 community health promotors CHPS and 3,700 Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWS).