Kenya’s drive to fight virus applauded

What you need to know:

  • Globally, Aids-related deaths have fallen by 35 per cent since the peak in 2005.
  • Last year, 1.5 million people died from Aids-related causes worldwide.

Melbourne, Australia

A new report on Tuesday commended Kenya’s campaigns to put HIV patients on treatment.

The report by Unaids released at the 20th International Aids conference in Australia said the introduction of antiretroviral therapy had reduced Aids-related deaths from 150,000 in 2005 to 58,000 last year.

Globally, Aids-related deaths have fallen by 35 per cent since the peak in 2005.

Last year, 1.5 million people died from Aids-related causes worldwide.

The report covered 15 countries, including Kenya, which accounted for more than 75 per cent of the world’s new HIV infections last year. Statistics show new infections fell from 3.4 million annually in 2001 to 2.1 million last year.

KENYA RATED SIXTH

Kenya was rated sixth among the 15 countries with a five per cent reduction in new HIV infections. It had 120,000 new infections in 2005, a figure that fell to 100,000 last year.

In 2013, there were 35 million infected with HIV worldwide.

The report said the percentage of HIV prevalence in adults aged 15-49 in Kenya reduced from 6.6 in 2005 to six per cent last year.

The 2013 estimates revealed that in Kenya, new infections in under 14-year-olds reduced from 21,000 to 13,000 between 2009 and 2013—a remarkable effort many at the conference praised.

In Kenya, the report said, most at-risk populations contribute to 33 per cent of new infections because of interaction with the general population.