Focus on children key in Aids fight
Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi (right) distributes females condoms to a group of women at KICC in Nairobi on December 01, 2010 during the World Aids Day 2010 celebrations. The minister noted that stakeholders must engage most at risk populations positively in the fight against HIV and Aids scourge. SULEIMAN MBATIAH
What you need to know:
General Facts on Children and HIV/AIDS
• Globally, it is estimated that more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV every day. Many will die by age two if they do not receive medication.
• In 2005, only 15 per cent of HIV-positive pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries received antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, or PMTCT. In 2009, 53 per cent of women who needed antiretroviral received them.
• In 2005, just 75,000 children under 15 who needed antiretroviral received them. In 2009, that figure had risen to approximately 356,400 – about 28 per cent of those in need.
• In 2005, 5.2 million young people aged 15-24 were living with HIV. In 2009, the number was estimated to be 5 million.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, nine per cent of maternal mortality is due to HIV and Aids
Focusing on preventing HIV infection among children could hold the key to an Aids-free generation.
The move is one of the strategies targeting high-risk groups in a bid to lower HIV prevalence in Kenya.
Public Health minister Beth Mugo called for different approaches to address HIV control needs for various populations and regions.
“We are in the process of mapping hotspots where some of these subpopulations operate in order to reach them with comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment services,” Mrs Mugo said said Wednesday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to mark World Aids Day.
In recognition of the fact that 30 per cent of new HIV infections are caused by high risk groups such as injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, female sex workers and truck drivers, the government and partners have developed a strategy to address their HIV control needs, the minister added.
UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé noted that around 370,000 children are born with HIV each year. Each one of these infections is preventable.
“To achieve an AIDS-free generation we need to do more to reach the hardest hit communities. Every day, nearly 1000 babies in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV through mother to child transmission,” said Anthony Lake, Unicef’s Executive Director.
Mrs Mugo said protection of human rights was fundamental in combating the global AIDS epidemic.
This year's theme ‘Universal access to Aids treatment and Human rights'. It requires leaders and donors to commit themselves to guarantee treatment for decades for every person on ARVs.
"Violation of human rights through such acts as rape, denial of health care, harmful cultural practices that disempowered women, stigma and discrimination fuel the spread of HIV, not just among the victims of the violence but the general public too,” Mrs Mugo said.
The World Health Organisation has issued new ARV guidelines for treating infants and children, paving the way for more children with HIV to be eligible for immediate antiretroviral treatment (ART).
In low- and middle-income countries, 53 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretroviral (ARVs) to prevent mother-to-child transmission in 2009, compared to 45 per cent in 2008.
“We have strong evidence that elimination of mother-to-child transmission is achievable," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in a statement.
“Achieving the goal will require much better prevention among women and mothers in the first place,” Dr Chan pointed out.
According to Unicef, Aids is still one of the leading causes of death among women of reproductive age globally and a major cause of maternal mortality in countries with generalised epidemics.
Mrs Mugo noted that Kenya is experiencing a mixed and geographically heterogeneous HIV epidemic, with characteristics of both a ‘generalised’ epidemic among the mainstream population, and a ‘concentrated’ epidemic among specific groups such as sex workers, men, who have sex with men and injecting drug users.
She lauded Voluntary Male Circumcision in the country terming it as a successful promotion strategy in the reduction of HIV transmission rates.
Studies show that male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by nearly sixty percent.
To date over 170,000 Kenyans have undergone voluntary male circumcision in different parts of Kenya. We now have these services available in Nyanza, parts of Nairobi, Western and Rift Valley provinces.
