Kenya will channel additional resources towards community-led interventions aimed at boosting prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS that affects an estimated 5.6 percent of the country’s population, officials said on Thursday.
Sicily Kariuki, cabinet secretary for health, said the government has prioritized robust HIV and AIDS financing to minimize deaths that affects productive segment of the population.
“The country has achieved remarkable feat in the fight against AIDS. But as a government, our focus is to earmark extra resources to make sure the momentum towards zero infections and deaths is sustained,” said Kariuki.
She spoke in Nairobi during this year’s national HIV and AIDS conference, whose theme was “leveraging the HIV response to accelerate impact for universal health coverage.”
More than 500 delegates, including policymakers, researchers, donor representatives and campaigners, attended the annual forum to review progress attained in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Kenya is among the top five sub-Saharan African countries with the highest burden of AIDS but has witnessed a drop in new infections and deaths thanks to targeted interventions like mass testing, subsidized treatment and robust public education
