By Robert Muuo
Commercial sex workers in Mtito Andei Market, Kibwezi Sub-county, have staged a bold daytime protest over the growing shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and condoms, saying the crisis threatens their lives and the survival of their trade.
Carrying placards with messages like “No HIV prevention equals to new HIV cases — we need condoms and ARVs”, the demonstrators accused both the County and National Governments of neglecting a health emergency that has left many of their colleagues dying quietly.
They said that non-governmental organizations that previously supplied ARVs and prevention kits had withdrawn their support, leaving them at the mercy of costly private pharmacies.
The situation, they warned, has not only pushed many into debt but also exposed them to the risk of new infections.
“We have been abandoned,” said Caroline Kilonzi, one of the protest leaders. “Without ARVs and condoms, our lives are in danger. We are appealing to the government to restore medical supplies and recognize that we, too, deserve care and dignity.”
The protesters urged the Makueni County Government and the Ministry of Health to intervene urgently and reinstate the free distribution of HIV prevention tools through the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) and other health programs.
They accused some health officials of mishandling drug allocations and called for a full audit of the HIV care programs in the region.
Their placards told the story more bluntly than words could: “No ARVs, no life — no life, no work.”
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