HIV infections surge in Kitui as
impact assessment survey launched
By Andrew Munyoki (Governor’s Press Service)
Kitui: Chief Officer for health and sanitation Dr. Richard Muthoka has decried increasing rates of new HIV infections in the county despite heightened efforts by the county government and other partners to reduce HIV prevalence and mortality rates.
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| Dr Muthoka(R) flags off the survey yesterday |
Dr. Muthoka said Kitui County was still getting high rates of new infections annually despite the progress made in the management of the HIV pandemic in the county attributing the new infections to unwillingness for testing and refusal to access services amongst some residents.
He said Kitui is still categorized as a high burden county ranking number 19 out of the 47 counties despite a reduction in infection rates from 4.8 percent in 2012 to 4.4 percent in 2016.
According to statistics, HIV prevalence in the county is higher among females currently standing at 6 percent as opposed to infection among the male population which stands at 2.6 percent.
According to statistics obtained from the county ministry of health and sanitation, 28,918 people out of the county’s 1.5 million residents were infected with HIV with 1846 of those being children.
Dr. Muthoka said mother to child infection in the county remained a big concern with statistics putting the transmission rate at 19.4 percent.
“I call upon all partners to mobilize more resources to help pregnant women in our county access counselling and HIV testing services that are offered in our facilities” he said.
Dr. Muthoka spoke at the Kitui referral hospital on Thursday when he launched the Kenya Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (KENPHIA) implementation programme a national impact assessment survey that seeks to measure HIV treatment success and progress in Kenya.
The survey will provide detailed information on HIV prevalence and measures employed towards improvement of the health of infected persons as well as levels of new HIV infections and the proportion of HIV infected persons nationally.
Through the survey, Kenya will obtain current statistics on the progress towards realization of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets that envisage zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero HIV/AIDS related deaths on the global stage.
“The KENPHIA survey will give our county valuable statistics and firsthand information to confirm our progress and address the existing needs” Dr. Muthoka added.
KENPHIA CEO Francis Ogolla Said the survey is timely since its outcome will provide them with insights on how to prevent the unaffected from infection and putting the victims under viral suppression.
“Participants will learn about their health and be provided with information about prevention, care and management of the HIV/AIDS pandemic” he said.
