Funding cuts impact HIV care for communities in Kenya

Although HIV treatment and other services have been integrated into the county's health system, the loss of technical support, mentorship and community outreach remains a challenge.

In neighboring Migori, Andrew Magige, deputy HIV/AIDS coordinator, said funding reductions had affected staffing, patient tracing, training, and prevention programs.

"There have been challenges in terms of doing community service delivery, being able to trace back the clients who have been lost and bring them back to the system," he said.

Magige said the county's mother-to-child HIV transmission rate had risen from about 5.2 percent to slightly above 10 percent. The county is incorporating HIV services into annual work plans and seeking private-sector partnerships to sustain care.

Tom Odhong, Migori County's deputy director of public health and sanitation, said the county has taken on additional responsibilities, including transporting laboratory samples. He said 84 dispensaries are operating with at least one nurse or clinical officer, while the county has allocated about $23,128 in additional funding for HIV services.

However, Odhong said the resources remained insufficient to replace all the lost support.

For clients such as Omollo, maintaining access to HIV medicines is not enough. They also need confidential services, affordable treatment for related conditions, and health workers who understand their needs.

Juja said HIV prevention efforts would be more effective if key populations were treated as part of the wider community rather than being marginalized.

"If we continue segregating them and stigmatizing them, we shall not achieve that," she said.

Sustaining Kenya's progress against HIV will require not only keeping medicines available but also restoring outreach, peer education, confidential support and follow-up services for people who might otherwise remain outside the health system.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn