Medical experts anxious as HIV rates among teens, youth go up

By , August 28, 2023

Health experts are concerened that the gains made in reducing HIV prevalence could be reversed if latest data on new infection rates among adolescents is anything to go by.

Kenya is reported to be on the verge of achieving the United Nations AIDS 95-95-95 targets —95 per cent of persons with HIV have been diagnosed; 95 per cent of them on Anti-Retroviral Therapies and 95 per cent with viral suppression.

However, the latest data from the National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) is cautioning that all these could go down the drain.

As an array of medical and research experts; policy makers, and other stakeholders including persons living with HIV congregate in Mombasa this morning for the Maisha HIV conference, concerns are rife over the high number of new HIV infections among adolescents below 24 years.

“There are 3,244 new infections among adolescents aged 10-19 years, and 7,307 among young adults 15-24 years,” the data indicates.

New infecions

And out of the 427 new infections that occur in Kenya every week, 62 are among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years.

The country records 61 new HIV infections every day. It’s also worthy to note that this age group account for 18 per cent of all ante-natal care attendances and 36 per cent of all Sexual Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, further jeopardising the campaign against the Triple Threat- teenage pregnancies, HIV and GBV.

The triple threat among adolescents and young women aged between 10 and 19 years has become a driver of HIV infections due to sexual risk and vulnerability.

More anxiously, the same age group records 23 deaths occasioned by AIDS every week.

“Kenya is on track towards reduction of new HIV infections… However, the new infections are increasing in previously low burden counties, suggestive of changes in transmission dynamics,” a 2023 HIV situation analysis by NSDCC and partners further shows.

Nationally, as of May this year, the HIV prevalence rate stood at 3.7 per cent with 5.3 per cent being women and 2.6 per cent being male.

This is despite the fact that about 47.3 per cent of young women aged 15-19 have knowledge about HIV prevention compared to 48.7 per cent among young men aged 15-19.

“Knowledge of HIV prevention increases with education level and is lowest among those with no education 20.4 per cent for women and 24.1 per cent for men.

Total population

“This is in comparison to 74.6 per cent of women, and 78.9 per cent men with more than secondary education,” the data further shows.

Adolescents aged 10-19 years contribute to 11.6 million about 24.4 percent of the total population and is very critical. This is according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2019 (KNBS 2019).

“If we do not target them, if we don’t get interventions for them and we don’t take care we will reach a point where our population will be majorly the older population,” Janet Musimbi from the NSDCC cautions, noting that focus should be on this age group as there are aspects of life that expose them to the risk of AIDS.

The Theme of the 7th Edition of the Maisha HIV conference is; Ending Epidemics: Leadership, People, Science and Partnerships.

Musimbi hopes the theme will address the challenge even as further revelations show that overall, 4 per cent, about 59, 320 PLHIVs, are not on treatment, with 9 per cent, an estimated 133, 470 not virally suppressed.

The NSDCC data shows that about 17 per cent of children living with HIV, an estimated 14, 110, are not on treatment and 26 per cent, rounded off to around 21,580, not suppressed.

Further, according to NSDCC, the adolescents are battling with the overlapping challenge of new HIV infections, unintended pregnancies, and sexual and gender-based violence.

The ATA further shows that the counties of Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Lamu and Kilifi recorded a decline of more than 50 per cent in new HIav infections between 2021 and 2922.

According to AIDS Healthcare Foundation Executive Director, Dr Samuel Kinyanjui, the rising HIV infections are being driven by increased transactional sex.

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