EDITORIAL: Leave no one behind in fight against HIV

Kenya has made impressive progress in the fight against HIV—but not for everyone.

Transgender individuals and drug addicts continue to be left behind. They face not only limited access to services but also humiliation, discrimination and neglect when they seek care.

This is more than a gap in coverage. It is a failure of compassion and equity. People are still being turned away or mistreated at health facilities simply because of who they are or the challenges they face. Others are denied their dignity or treated as criminals when they try to access basic health services like clean needles, HIV testing or medication.

National figures tell the story. While coverage for female sex workers and men who have sex with men exceeds 100 per cent, access remains far lower for drug addicts (75 per cent) and transgender persons (86 per cent). These numbers reflect deep-rooted bias and harmful systems that exclude the most vulnerable.

The situation is even worse in prisons, where HIV prevalence is three to four times higher than in the general population. Yet services in these settings remain nearly nonexistent.

We must go beyond health service provision. Reforms in law, policy and public attitudes are urgently needed.

The stigma that continues to deny people care must be confronted and dismantled. HIV does not discriminate. Our response must not either. Every Kenyan, regardless of identity or circumstance, deserves care, dignity and the chance to live.

Quote of the Day: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” —British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade William Wilberforce died on July 29, 1833