Counties are at the forefront of war on Aids

I recently visited several counties to get a better understanding of how the relationship between the National Aids Control Council and the county governments is affecting the fight against HIV.

I found developments worth celebrating as well as opportunities for key lessons to be learnt.

For starters, the counties have taken ownership of the management of HIV and Aids within their jurisdictions. Guided by the Kenya Aids Strategic Framework, they have each developed their own county-specific plans to guide the coordination and implementation of the HIV response.

The policy documents have set out a clear path of ensuring that the county HIV response remains a multi-sectoral affair and that key institutions play their critical mandates.

All the 47 counties have developed and validated their Aids strategic plans, a third of which have been launched, with the county leadership committing to allocate resources to ensure their full implementation.

In the plans, the counties have each identified and developed interventions unique to the HIV and Aids realities in their areas. Homa Bay, which has the highest HIV prevalence rate nationally at 25.7 per cent, has developed impressive interventions.

To begin with, the county has declared HIV and Aids a county disaster, meaning that it has made their management a priority. At the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital, for instance, a new wing exclusively dedicated to the provision of comprehensive care for those with HIV was recently constructed and operationalised.

If this were replicated across Kenya, then the nation would certainly achieve its target of ending Aids by 2030.

ANTI-HIV STIGMA WAR

How was this achieved? The county leadership has accepted the responsibility of championing the anti-HIV stigma war by taking HIV tests in public places, especially during market days.

The campaign encourages those who test HIV-positive to go for treatment free of charge. Provision of HIV services to the fishing community around the lake has further helped to increase awareness and comprehensive knowledge on HIV.

In Kajiado, the county and implementing partners provide door-to-door HIV services in manyattas. Given the migratory nature of the area residents, who are pastoralists, this has greatly improved access to the services for this hitherto under-served population. Previous national interventions did not effectively address the lifestyle of the pastoralists.

In Machakos, the county leadership has responded to a need precipitated by truck drivers along the Nairobi-Mombasa road, especially in Mlolongo, by setting up wellness centres along the highway. The county and its partners have engaged the services of sex workers to offer peer education on HIV. The wellness centres are open 24 hours a day to meet the needs of the targeted population.

In Mombasa, the county has prioritised interventions among men who have sex with other men, sex workers, and injecting drug users.

There are several wellness centres where the needs of service seekers are effectively met. Mombasa is the only county that has taken advantage of the high number of people visiting Huduma Centres to provide HIV services there. This has encouraged more people to be tested.

These are just a few examples of what is going on in the fight against HIV and Aids in the counties.

They point to the fact that there are more outstanding interventions all over Kenya. Of course this is not to say that things are all rosy in the counties. No. Challenges abound and a lot more needs to be done, especially in the allocation and mobilisation of resources to ensure full implementation of the Aids strategic plans.

Counties have added fresh impetus to the fight against HIV and Aids.

Mr Ohaga is the head of communication at the National Aids Control Council. [email protected]