Reports that Kenya has revised guidelines for early HIV management are a welcome development to people living with the disease in the country.
According to the Health ministry, the new move will bring 214,000 more people under antiretroviral drugs therapy. Those with a CD4 cell count of below 500 will now be eligible for the preventive care.
We welcome the move to rope in more people under the early intervention programme given that previously only those with a CD4 cell count of 350 and below were eligible. This locked out a significant number of Kenyans who have HIV.
The new guidelines have also recommended that pregnant women and those who are breast feeding and have HIV be put on antiretroviral therapy immediately. We welcome this as it will ensure that infection rates are reduced.
Government hospitals give free antiretroviral drugs to patients. The Global Fund and the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief meet around 90 per cent of the treatment costs.
While the country has made strides in the war against HIV/Aids, new infections are still being reported. There is urgent need to step up efforts to ensure that transmission rates are reduced while at the same time ensuring that the infected have access to medicine.
The newly launched 2012 Kenya Aids Indicator Survey Final Report and the New HIV Treatment Guidelines found that 1.2 million people or 5.6 per cent of the adults aged between 15 to 64 years live with HIV. This is a decrease from the 2007 figure of 1.4 million people or 7.6 per cent of the same age cohort.
It is estimated that 85 per cent of Kenyans living with HIV and are aware and eligible for the therapy are on antiretroviral therapy.
According to the World Health Organisation, the new guidelines will help avert three million HIV-related deaths and prevent 3.5 million new infections by 2025.
The main goal of roping in more people under the early intervention programme is to enable those living with Aids live longer and also help in reducing transmission rates.
We state that it is imperative for the government to roll out more programmes that will enlighten the youth on the disease. This would go a long way in curbing the rate of new infections and slowing down the spread of the disease.
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