- Siaya county still contribute a high of seven per cent of the 5,123 cases – translating to 371 new adolescents in the county being infected every year.
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On the other hand, 60.1 per cent of men aged 15-24 do not know about HIV prevention in Siaya.
Image: HANDOUT
A high of 88 per cent of men in Siaya, a NDSCC 2022 report reveals, are too trusting as they reported not having used a condom during their last sexual intercourse with a ‘stranger’.
The National Syndemic Disease Control Council also notes that young people aged 10-24 in Siaya are at the highest risk of new HIV infection, unwanted pregnancies and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Speaking at the KMTC Siaya campus grounds on Thursday during a ‘End the Triple Threat’ campaign, the NSDCC director Lucy Ghati said that up to 27 per cent of people in the county are vulnerable.
The ‘Triple Threat Campaign’ is a multi-sectoral, whole government approach to ending new HIV infections, unintended pregnancies and SGBV among adolescent girls and young women by addressing the drivers of risk and vulnerability.
Ghati said that there has been a decline in the number of new HIV infections among 10-19 year olds by 72 per cent from 18,000 in 2015 to 5,123 in 2021.
The current figure translates to 99 new HIV infections in Kenya every week.
Siaya county still contribute a high of seven per cent of the 5,123 cases – translating to 371 new adolescents in the county being infected every year.
The county’s assistant director of Children Services Allan Onguka said that there is need to be wary since most of the infections among children occur in the home set-up, which ought to be a safe space.
“A look at the statistics within the child protection information management system reveals that 88 per cent of the reported incidents within Siaya happen within the home environment,” he said.
He said that there is need to strengthen the response mechanism in the fight against the triple threat but it is more urgent to dwell on prevention mechanisms.
“A case reported is a case too late,” Onguka said, noting that a third of the reported incidents of the triple threat among children aged 0-5 end up with adverse effects on them.
He called on parents and caregivers to be more vigilant since strangers are the most unlikely perpetrators.
Ghati underscored that that men are not showing up to test HIV compared to women, thus the need for stakeholders to double efforts in ensuring that young men gets to know their status.
She said that up to 79 per cent of adolescents who were tested for HIV in 2022 in the country were females aged 10-19.
Nationally, slightly more women aged 15 to 24 know about HIV prevention as compared to men in the same age bracket, NDSCC director said.
In Siaya county, Ghati said, 71.5 per cent of women aged 15-24 years know about HIV prevention.
On the other hand, 60.1 per cent of men aged 15-24 do not know about HIV prevention in Siaya.
“This shows that more needs to be done to educate young men on HIV prevention and ensure that they have access to information on safe sexual practices,” Ghati said.
As at 2021, the HIV prevalence in Siaya county stood at 14.1 per cent - almost four times the national average – with adolescents (10-19) forming up to 17 per cent of it.
Alego Usoga and Bondo subcounties contributed up to 44 per cent of the county new HIV infections among adolescents aged 10-19 years in 2021.
The number of new HIV infections per subcounty in 2021 were distributed as follows: Alego Usonga and Bondo (81 each), Gem (69), Rarieda (64), Ugenya (44) and Ugunja (32).
One per cent of all the adolescent girls who were tested in all the six subcounties of Siaya in 2022 turned out HIV positive.
Gem tested 3,300, Rarieda 2,480, Bondo 2,293, Ugenya 1892, Alego Usonga 1,591 and Ugunja 1,549 girls.
“HIV testing is the entry point into care. We continue to advocate that 100 per cent of our population gets to know their HIV status so that those who are positive can be enrolled for treatment and live their normal lives,” Ghati said.
“The percentage of women who reported using a condom during last sexual intercourse within the last 12 months with a person who neither was their husband nor lived with them stood at 37.7 per cent compared to 88 per cent among men.”
A report by KENPHIA in 2018 revealed that about 27.9 per cent older adolescents and young adults in Siaya had their sexual debut before the age of 15 years.
Although there has been witnessed a tremendous decline in adolescent pregnancies the trend is still high with long-term consequences such as increased risk of maternal and child mortality, dropping out of school and social stigma.
In 2016, some 10,558 girls were pregnant in the country; this dropped significantly to 7,000 in 2021.
One out of every five women who turn out for antenatal care in Kenya is aged between 10-19 years, NSDCC said.
In 2022 in Siaya county, some 180 girls aged 10-14 years sought ANC service in Siaya. Another 1,548 girls aged 15-19 sought similar services at various hospitals in Siaya.
NSDCC called on the government and the civil society to create safe spaces for survivors of SGBV in the country, saying that the vice is pervasive in the country and affects both females and males.
Even so, NSDCC notes that young females are more vulnerable to SGBV which has “significant physical, emotional and psychological consequences.”
Transactional sex or sex work is another factor contributing to risk and vulnerability in the campaign against the triple threat.
According to the Kenya Health Information System in 2022, there are some 15-19 year olds sex workers in Siaya county. Ugunja subcounty led with 26, Bondo 15, Rarieda 11 and Alego Usonga 7.
Gem and Ugenya subcounties did not record any adolescent sex worker.
The NSDCC director promised that the agency will rely on trainer of trainers to cascade information on the triple threat to every corner of Siaya county.