The Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development is reviewing the Draft Public service workplace policy on HIV/AIDS and related diseases to align it to the current issues affecting the health of public servants.

The policy is meant to delve into issues faced by public servants who are infected by HIV/ AIDS and related diseases in the country with the aim of providing a clear framework for HIV/AIDS response.

Principal Secretary Ministry of Public Service, Amos Gathecha, said this while officiating a validation workshop on public service workplace policy on HIV/ AIDS and related diseases at Machakos University on Tuesday.

Gathecha said the review was necessary since there has been a major drawback to the public service workforce with approximately 36,260 public servants living with HIV.

He said the exercise will promote a safe and healthy work environment in the public service that guarantees dignity and fair labour practices for all public servants.

“This Policy will guide measures to mitigate the effects of loss of working hours due to HIV and related chronic health conditions at the workplace and improve employee productivity as well as the ability to seek healthcare services without fear of discrimination,” said Gathecha.

The PS acknowledged that there was a high demand for counselling services among public servants due to the close relationship between HIV/AIDS and mental health challenges in the public service.

He disclosed that mental illness increased the risk of HIV infection while people living with HIV have an increased risk of mental illness even as he described stigma and discrimination as a hindrance in the fight the terminal diseases.

It is in view of these issues that the government is implementing interventions aimed at addressing mental health challenges such as reviewing the Public Service Counselling Welfare Policy 2024, increasing the number of counsellors in the service, and providing counselling services to 14,000 public servants in the financial year 2023/2024.

Training a total of 1,010 mental health champions to improve early detection of officers in need of counselling, establishing counselling and wellness units in six Huduma centres countrywide and also providing counselling services through Huduma Kenya Counselling helpline on telephone No1919.

The PS further highlighted the government’s efforts in reducing HIV infections among public servants by implementing measures such as ensuring adherence to the Human Resource Manual 2016 on HIV-related issues, providing counselling and wellness services and developing of Public Service Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS.

Country Support Division Head from the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC), Carol Kinoti, said that Kenya was among the countries with the highest HIV/AIDS infections as it was ranked 7^th globally and requires about Sh25 billion to successfully fight HIV/AIDS.