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.