OF OUR FAILURE TO CONTAIN HIV

HIV is indeed a concern for all Kenyans. On this blog i have linked another blog on HIV in Kenya.While i accept that most of the issues the blogger raises are valid,i beg to differ on others. We have made giant leaps as a country in our fight against the pandemic. We have quite a good percentage of those eligible for ART on it,most people who know their status are on care and linked to community support groups. We have our emphasis on prevention ,the campaigns on abstinence , faithfulness to one faithful partner and use of condoms ( consistently,correctly and in light) in that order. It isn't just so that we have the ABC acronym but because many believe that is how effective each method is. Our primary target initially was the youth,who were mainly unmarried and most at risk ,then. Today, the scenario has changed, the married couples are more at risk, and the emphasis is on one faithful partner and condom use. Imagine if there was an advert on the TV telling people to use condoms for extra marital/other partners instead of the one we have telling men to leave the mistresses (mpango wa kando). It would cause uproar...Not because it wouldn't be the best, but because Kenyans hide behind a facade of Christianity and other religions. As Simon the blogger aptly notes, we seem to villify sex,make it evil, something to avoid...and we fail miserably in sex education..as those educating do know very little about sex. However,to change perceptions of a people,especially when coloured by the religious glasses is one hell of a task!!!Religion seems to take away the reasoning part of human mind,such that no matter how sensible/reason oriented suggestions are, they are rejected offhand as heresies...
This therefore leaves very little room for manoeuvre for those trying to contain HIV. It informs the practice of technical solutions- circumcision,mass testing and treatment,condoms for the "unreligious", rebels and other straight thinking Kenyans ,etc.These efforts must be given credit for they have achieved,BIG! Case in point is the mother to child transmission prevention, the program has worked wonders,many children are being born negative to positive mothers, Postnatal prevention through safer infant feeding practices and the early initiation of treatment for the infected infants,has really reduced mortality of HIV exposed infants. Kudos to Kenya.
Social realities may fuel or slow the spread of HIV and are hard to change, Kenyans should implement the technical(medical) solutions as they also keep impressing on themselves on the need to change our attitudes......In the end ,it is the synergy of the medical and social approaches and solutions that will win the war......KENYANS KEEP THE FAITH,AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE....YES WE CAN AND WILL BEAT HIV!!!!