Condoms are being provided in all Huduma Centres ahead of Valentine’s Day as part of the HIV-Aids awareness campaign
The Huduma Centres have partnered with the Aids Healthcare Foundation and the National Aids Control Council. The Aids Healthcare Foundation is an NGO that has been working on HIV prevention for the past 11 years.
The initiative comes as the world today celebrates International Condom Day. Some 40,000 Kenyans seek services at Huduma Centres daily.
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A survey showed 60 per cent of these are aged between 18 and 34. They go to the centres for national ID cards, birth certificates, driving licences and business permits.
Current data by the Ministry of Health show HIV infections are on the rise, compelling institutions to devise a wide range of initiatives. Aids killed 36,000 people in 2016.
Last week, the AHF donated 60 condom dispensers to Huduma Centres. There are 52 Huduma Centres in the 47 counties, with Nairobi having the largest number of centres as well as the largest number of people seeking services.
“It is important to help young people who are sexually active to prevent infections. In our efforts to address the – once again - rising infection rates, we found out that Huduma Centres are strategically located for us to reach out to masses of young people,” AHF country programme director Samuel Kinyanjui said.
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The NGO has agreed with Huduma Centres to create a culture of condom use among the youth.
“Our dispensers have been fitted with a coin slot so the person who refills them everyday can get something they can use as transport back home, or lunch,” Kinyanjui said.
According to the Health ministry, 1.6 million Kenyans were living with HIV in 2016. Some 62,000 new infections and 36,000 Aids-related deaths were recorded.