Only about 6,200 children were born
with HIV in Kenya last year, down
from a high of 15,000 in 2012.
This is a reduction of 58.67 per cent.
The new data means the country
is on course to eliminate mother-to child
transmission of HIV, which now
stands at 6.2 per cent.
Mother-to-child transmission accounts
for more than 90 per cent of
new HIV infections among children,
but is entirely preventable if the
HIV-positive mothers adhere to antiretroviral
treatment.
“If we sustain the momentum then
we can completely eliminate transmission
to babies by 2021,” said Dr
Caroline Olwande, a pharmacist with
the National Aids and STI Control Programme.
Nascop said currently only 85 per
cent of mothers with HIV have been
placed on ARVs to prevent the virus
passing on to their babies.
Olwande said Kenya can achieve
zero transmission if all positive mothers
are placed on ARVs during and after
pregnancy.
However, only eight in every 10
mothers attend the antenatal clinics,
which means the country would need
a complete coverage of all hospitals to
eliminate HIV in babies.
Nascop has now developed a new
strategy, which places emphasis on
adolescents.
“We are concerned about the increase
of new infections among girls
and young women, many of whom
unknowingly pass on the virus to their
children during pregnancy, delivery
or breastfeeding,” director of medical
services Dr Jackson Kioko said.
The data also showed a spike in infections
during the nurses’ strike last
year and in 2015.
Leading pediatrician Prof Ruth
Nduati said this year will also see a
spike because of the ongoing nurses’
strike.
“The entire mother and child
healthcare in hospitals is run by nurses,
but now women go to hospitals
and they cannot access HIV drugs,”
she said.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta will
launch Nascop’s new strategy today in
Nairobi.
She will be hosting a summit,
where leaders will commit to prioritise
resources for the elimination of
mother-to-child transmission within
the 2012-2016 framework.
The participants will be questioning
why Kenya continues to experience
high maternal mortality from
preventable causes and increasing
HIV-Aids prevalence among adolescents,
despite previous high-level
commitments to tame the challenges.