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AIDS Day: in Kenya, the number of new infections is clearly decreasing
In Africa, 25 million people are affected by AIDS, including 1.4 million in Kenya. The number of cases would be significantly reduced thanks to the government’s involvement. Sex workers are notably offered PreP, 400,000 people are receiving this treatment. – (franceinfo)
In Africa, 25 million people are affected by AIDS, including 1.4 million in Kenya. The number of cases would be significantly reduced thanks to the government’s involvement. Sex workers are notably offered PreP, 400,000 people are receiving this treatment.
In Kenya, a clinic only treats sex workers. Since 2017, this type of structure has distributed free preventive treatments against HIV. Caroline’s clients often offer her more money to have unprotected sex, increasing the risk of contracting diseases. “PreP has changed my life. (…) For the medication to be effective, I have to take it for seven days straight and then continue. I take one pill a day”she explains.
An ambitious government policy
Convincing TDS to take PreP is a challenge. 80% of the clinic’s patients are under treatment. “There is definitely a stigma, but less so. This clinic has been running for over 10 years now, and for sex workers it has played a very important role in providing prevention services.”, observes Juma Bernard, doctor at the SWOP clinic. In 2009, these particularly exposed populations represented 33% of new contaminations, in 2020 they are only 13%.
“We’re implementing a variety of strategies, so we can’t really attribute this solely to PreP. But PreP has contributed to the decline in HIV infections.”, says Elvis Oyugi, responsible for the fight against AIDS and STDs at the Kenyan Ministry of Health. In Kenya, 400,000 people are on PreP. The government’s ambitious policy has made it possible to reduce new infections by 44% between 2016 and 2022.
