More than 1.9 million Kenyans have benefitted from voluntary medical male circumcision since the programme was introduced eleven years ago.
This is more than 100 per cent of the targeted population, making the Kenyan programme a model for the rest of Africa.
In its 2019 scorecard, Unaids says Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia have surpassed targets.
Unaids says antiretroviral treatment and VMMC scale-up have together contributed to sharp decline in HIV incidence.
"While antiretroviral treatment has been the main driver thus far, it may be surpassed by VMMC by 2025," says Unaids report, Implementation of the HIV prevention 2020 road map.
The national household-based HIV survey, called Kenphia, which has not been released yet, is expected to show large declines in HIV incidence in former hotspots like Nyanza.
The Kenyan VMMC programme was launched on November 24, 2008, as an additional HIV prevention strategy in Nyanza, but has since been scaled up nationally, while prioritizing regions with highest HIV prevalence and low male circumcision prevalence.
Unaids says mathematical modelling estimates that 250,000 new HIV infections were averted by the end of 2018 in 15 African countries including Kenya.
"The future benefits of this effective intervention will be much larger since VMMC provides lifelong protection," the report says.
Currently, Kenya allows early infant male circumcision, which targets children between 0 to 60 days old.
Having achieved coverage among communities that did not previously practice male circumcision in Western, Kenya is now targeting the counties of Turkana, Marsabit, West Pokot and Coast.
World Health Organization and Unaids have recommended VMMC since mid-2000 when it was found to reduce the female-to-male sexual transmission of HIV by 60 per cent.
As a result, 14 countries (and later South Sudan) in East and Southern Africa were identified as priority countries and initiated programmes to expand VMMC.
These countries are Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, eSwatini, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Unaids is now calling for more investment in HIV prevention.
“Investments in HIV prevention do not match the needs of our people; in some countries, even the basic commodities like condoms are not available, accessible or affordable in rural areas, for young people or key populations,” says Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Unaids.
Kenya has about 1.5 million people living with HIV and one million of them are on live-prolonging ART.
In 2017, Kenya further introduced the pre-exposure prophylaxis which, when taken daily, protects users from contracting the virus.
Kenya's prep is the largest in Africa with about 50,000 people on the programme.
