The National Syndemic Diseases Control Council has introduced opium substitution therapy as part of its efforts to curb the rise in new HIV infections within the country’s prison institutions.
This initiative follows the council’s alarm over the increased rate of new infections among inmates, largely driven by the use of shared injectable drugs.
The new developments continue to pose a big challenge to the country’s response and containment of new HIV infections which are currently affecting the youth.
Furthermore, the council said over 46,000 Kenyans were using injectable drugs with alcohol and other substance abuse contributing to higher infections recorded by the relevant government authorities.
According to the Council CEO Dr. Ruth Laibon prisons have recorded a higher prevalence of inmates being infected with HIV which has prompted the government to integrate its response services within the institutions.
Dr. Laibon said the government has been spending over Ksh 1B to provide opioid substitution therapy care to the affected drug users within the prisons to manage their addiction and lower rates of new infections.
“Injectable and shareable drug users have a five times higher rate of being infected with HIV and we have introduced 11 centres across seven counties to provide therapy care for users”, said Dr Laibon.
Speaking in Naivasha during a stakeholder’s engagement with the Judiciary, Dr. Laibon said necessary reforms are needed including reviewing the Aids Control Act (2006) to enhance rights of access to HIV/AIDS services for prisoners.
In addition, the CEO raised concerns over the reduction of global donor funding to the country which has seen Kenya lose up to. 12B for commodities this year alone.
Dr Laibon said the huge cut in donor funding which contributes 80per cent of commodities used in the fight against HIV has led to a shortage of condoms for users as well as suspension of critical education programs for Kenyans.
The cut in funding Laibon said has been occasioned by Kenyans being reclassified as middle-income countries from low-income status as well as donor countries redirecting part funds to their economic recoveries.
The CEO said the country recorded 16,000 new HIV infections this year with 1.4 million people living with the virus where 98 percent have been put on treatment.
In addition, Dr. Laibon said the council is tracking more than 44,000 HIV-infected individuals who have yet to be enrolled in the government’s treatment program, ensuring that all affected persons can fully access the necessary health services.
According to the council statistics, the CEO regretted that HIV/AIDs related illnesses continue to rob the country of energetic individuals from the age of 49 years and above who continue to record higher death rates.
She regretted that men and children have been left behind in the fight against HIV adding that the Arid and Semi-Arid counties continue to record low access to treatment services.
On her part, Annerita Murungi, the CEO of the HIV/AIDs Tribunal said people living with HIV continue to experience stigma and discrimination in in work environments.
Murungi said there’s a need to create more awareness of violations of the rights of people living with HIV/AIDs to ensure they are the key players within Kenyan society.
Further, Hortense Minishi, the Deputy Executive Director at KELIN, a Health and Human Rights NGO said the organization has been at the forefront in providing legal support to people affected by discrimination due to their health status.
Minishi said there’s a need to enhance access to justice for those affected by stigma and discrimination to ensure their health rights are respected.
Kenya has in the last decade made major progress in the fight against HIV/AIDs with a 53 per cent decrease in new infections since the year 2010 and over 60 per cent in related deaths.
The remarkable progress in reducing new infections and the government’s commitment to ending the pandemic by 2030 may be threatened by recent reports from officials of a rise in infections among young people.
