KENYA: HIV/AIDS prevalence stabilised - government

The Kenyan government announced on Monday that the use of condoms had led to a reduction in HIV/AIDS cases, ‘The Standard’ newspaper reported.

The Director of Medical Services, Dr Richard Muga, was reported as saying that the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country had stabilised and stood at between 13 and 14 percent because of the government’s intervention. Muga added that the spread of HIV/AIDS could start to decrease. “The active interventions that have gone on in the last 10 years have led to stabilised HIV/AIDS prevalence. It is expected to remain there and later come down in the next three years,” he was quoted as saying.

Muga was reacting to media reports that the majority of Kenyans viewed condom use as an ineffective prevention method for HIV/AIDS. “If there was no intervention and if condoms were not being used today, we would be talking of very high prevalence rates; rates more than 35 percent as shown by projections,” he said. According to the report, Muga estimated the use of condoms to be about 100 million a year - a significant increase from 70 million in 1998.

Theme (s): Other,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]