Some Kenyans living with Aids have died after they persistently refused to take anti-retroviral drugs believing a concoction they drank in Loliondo in Tanzania had healed them, the government has said. National Aids Control Council yesterday confirmed that ARV centres across the country have reported cases of patients defaulting on treatment.
NACC now fears cases of drug resistance could increase, eroding the gains already made in the fight against HIV. “Many people are dying. The latest cases are from Kisii where chiefs say people have stopped taking drugs,” said NACC director Prof Alloys Orago. He was speaking during the official launch of the National HIV and Aids Tribunal in Nairobi.
Orago said the NACC is compiling a list of Loliondo defaulters including those who may have died already. He pleaded with HIV-positive Kenyans to continue taking drugs, saying defaulting was dangerous. “It can easily cause resistance and many people who came from Loliondo are already dying for not taking drugs,” he said.
Missing daily doses of ARVs can lead to drug resistance even when the patient resumes treatment. The person could also spread the drug resistant strain of HIV, making treatment almost impossible. “The effectiveness and safety of the herb has not even been ascertained,” the NACC director said. “In Tanzania they are saying what we are saying here: It has to be subjected to scientific scrutiny first.”
A 76-year-old man, Ambilikile Mwasapile, popularly known as Babu, claims God directed him to prepare the ‘healing’ concoction. The tribunal inaugurated yesterday will hear all HIV-related grievances in Kenya.
Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi asked Kenyans who are discriminated against because of the HIV status to contact the tribunal, currently housed by the NACC at Upper hill in Nairobi. “HIV positive people are still subject to serious forms of stigma and discrimination. They risk losing their jobs, being ostracized from their communities and being denied access to goods and services,” she said.
Tribunal Chairman Ambrose Rachier said they will not have powers to jail or fine people. He said they will first develop regulations to guide their activities. “Everybody including people most at risk to HIV like prostitutes, prisoners and men who have sex with men have right to health,” he said.
Other tribunal members are Joy Asiema, Mohammed Noor, Prof Julius Muasya abd dr Ephantus Njagi of the University of Nairobi. Aids activist Joel Muriuki and Angelina Siparo are also members.
