Catholic Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a'Nzeki yesterday welcomed the move by USAid to provide free antiretroviral drugs to Kenyans.

Speaking to the Nation at his Barcelona hotel, the archbishop observed: "This is the most wonderful news to come from this conference since Kenyans infected by the killer virus need help and need it now."

At the same time, the archbishop urged the Government to institute strict supervision and administration of the drugs which will assist in prolonging the lives of the 2.3 million Kenyans living with Aids.

Said he: "There should be no room for corruption and anybody found pilfering or selling the drugs should face instant and severe punishment to deter even hardened criminals from trying to profit from the drugs".

On Tuesday, a senior United States Agency for International Development advisor, Dr Paul De Lay, announced that Kenya was among three African countries identified by his organisation to benefit from free anti-retroviral drugs in a programme expected to start before December.

Dr Lay announced that USAid would allocate $1 million during the first year of the anti-retroviral programme in addition to the $20 million his organisation gives Kenya annually to combat Aids and other HIV-related infections.

At the same time, Archbishop Ndingi, who is expected to join former US President Bill Clinton in launching a youth campaign against HIV/Aids today, defended the Catholic Church and other religious groups against accusations that they were not doing enough in the fight against Aids.

"The Catholic Church, for example, was among the first in sounding an alert over the spread of HIV/Aids among our people even before the media and the government had started speaking against the killer virus. Indeed, we have priests and nuns involved in homecare and other programmes at the grassroots in the most remote parts of the country today," he added.

However, Archbishop Ndingi said the Government should stop promoting condoms as offering the best solution in the fight against Aids.

"If condoms were as effective as some purport, how come that former University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor Francis Gichaga said an average of five students were dying from Aids monthly?"

Archbishop Ndingi said one of the most effective ways of fighting Aids was for the Government to outlaw the construction of bars especially in residential areas and regulating their operation hours.

At the same time, Kenya is among eight African countries set to benefit from Mother to Child Treatment (MTCT-Plus) that is targeted to focus on countries that are worst hit by HIV/Aids in Africa.

The MTCT-Plus Initiative has committed over US$ 50 million for life-long care and treatment of more than 10,000 HIV positive mothers, children and other family members.

Report by ROSEMARY OKELLO, MIKE MWANIKI and CALEB ATEMI.