Mike Mwaniki
22 February 2008
Nairobi — The gains made in the war against HIV and Aids are likely to be reversed if the political stalemate is not resolved immediately, health experts warned Thursday.
Speaking in Nairobi, the experts described the displacement of hundreds of people as a "ticking time-bomb" that is likely to herald an increase in new HIV infections especially among the youth.
According to estimates, 15,000 HIV-positive people had been displaced while only 6,750 are on anti-retroviral treatment.
New HIV infections in Kenya have dropped to 55,000 from 100,000 in 2004.
Prevalence rate
At the same time, the national HIV prevalence rate stands at 5.1 per cent from a high of seven per cent in 2005.
The significant drop in infections has seen Kenya cited as a runaway "success story" in the Aids war by the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) and World Health Organisation.
On Thursday, the National Aids Control Council and UNAids expressed concern at the current political crisis saying it posed a potential setback to Kenya's gains.
"There are also concerns that the displacement and violence (including sexual and gender-based violence) has made people more vulnerable to risk of HIV infection," UNAids country coordinator, Dr Erasmus Morah said.
NACC head of communications, Mr Peter Mutie said a total of 2,391 HIV infected people were either displaced or were unable to access care from their regular facilities in North Rift, Nairobi, Nyanza, Coast and Central provinces.
Life-prolonging
The council chairperson, Prof Miriam Were, said a task force comprising the council, civil society, donors and faith organisations had been established to spearhead the war against HIV and Aids in displacement camps countrywide.
Dr Morah said if the political crisis is not resolved, prolonged disruption to anti-retroviral and anti-tuberculosis treatment was likely to occur leading to of resistance to the life-prolonging drugs.
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