The number of Kenyans
living with HIV/AIDS dropped from 13 percent in 2000 to 6.3 percent in 2012
with the number of new infections remaining high at about 100,000 people, a
government official said on Friday. Permanent Secretary in
charge of Public Health and Sanitation Mark Bor said the figure must be checked
in the continuing efforts to find solutions to eliminate the problem, which he
described as one that continues to have a widespread impact in the lives of
Kenyans. "The remarkable drop
in HIV prevalence noted in the last decade has come as a result of concerted
effort by all stakeholders in the fight against HIV, with nearly 6 million
people taking HIV testing and counseling each year," the PS said during
the launch of the second Kenya Aids Indicator Survey (KAIS II) in Nairobi.
To track the trend of HIV
and monitor its success, Bor said it required accurate and information of the
situation of the diseases, a factor he alluded to have contributed to the
launch of the first survey in 2007, which he concurred provided very important
information that has since been used for planning, program implementation and
monitoring.
"Additionally, nearly
600,000 people living with HIV are on anti-retroviral drugs and 82 percent of
all pregnant mothers are accessing Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission
services countrywide HIV testing centers having risen from eight in 2000 to
5,200 today," he said.
The PS said the survey,
which will run from Oct. 22 to end of January 2013, will shed light into how to
make interventions more targeted and localized, while understanding the drivers
of the epidemic and HIV transmission will inform design, implementation and
evaluation of more effective national response.
The theme of the survey,
dubbed "Get tested with your family today", it is anticipated will
provide crucial information about incidence and prevalence of HIV and related
sexually transmitted infections, risk practices and service uptake and
delivery. The information will help guide the HIV prevention and treatment
efforts coordinated through the government and supported by international
partner governments and organizations.
Kenya has been home to one
of the world's harshest HIV and AIDS epidemics with about 1.2 million children
having been orphaned by the scourge. Between 1983 and 1985, only 26 cases of
AIDS were reported in Kenya and towards the end of 1986, an average of four new
AIDS cases were being reported to the World Health Organization each month.
During the survey, 40 field
teams each consisting of eight members will sample over 10,000 around the
country during which approximately 24,000 adults between 15-64 years and 8,000
children between 18 months to 14 years will be sampled to determine the
prevalence of HIV infection and the rate of new infections among the above
named age groups.
The launch of the final
report will take place in September 2013 after going through the stages of data
merging and weighting, preliminary analysis, final report analysis and
printing. The first survey was conducted in 2007 during which it emerged that
more than one third of all new infections occurred among the most at risk
populations with men who have sex with fellow men in prison populations leading
at 15.2 percent followed by sex workers and their clients at 14.2 percent.
"Our survey teams
comprising of 40 field teams will sample over 10,000 households around the
country to determine prevalence of HIV infection in Kenya and establish whether
we are winning in the fight against HIV/AIDS," Patrick Muriithi, the Head
of Monitoring and Evaluation Division at the National Aids Control Council said
during the survey launch on Friday in Nairobi.
"We intend to sample
approximately 24,000 adults between 15-64 years and 8,000 children between 18
months to 14 years to determine the prevalence of HIV infection and the rate of
new infections among the above named age groups and to also describe the
socio-economic and behavioral risk factors associated with HIV infections."
Other objectives of the survey are to determine the need and coverage of HIV
care and treatment services among the infected and establish how to prevent
them.
Muriithi said all women,
men and children falling between the described ages are eligible to take part
in the survey but ruled out the participation of prisoners due to their
controlled confinement. According to the figures for 2011, the number of
Kenyans living with HIV stood at 1.6 million people with new adult and child
infections recorded at 104,000. Annual AIDS deaths were reportedly 62,000.
Davies Kimanga of the
National AIDS and STI Control Program said the information will be provided to
the survey teams on voluntary basis and stressed that the wishes of the
respondents will be respected. "No one will be coerced into participating
in the exercise and in the event that the respondent will be unwilling to
participate, their wishes will be respected in accordance with the Bill of
Rights."
Data collection methods
will involve survey questionnaire and drawing of blood for in household and a
central laboratory in Nairobi for storage for future testing. Kimanga said the
field teams will use the latest technology to enter and transmit survey data to
the central server in Nairobi each night and added that once central testing is
complete, survey data from all teams will be emerged with lab results to create
the final dataset.
The central laboratory testing will include HIV
testing using enzyme immunoassays, CD4 cell count, viral load, recent infection
and ARV detection for HIV positive samples. Household results will be returned
with counseling and referrals for linkage to care and treatment services.
Xinhua.net
Please share
No comments:
Post a Comment