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The war against HIV/Aids got a boost following the launch of a digital application on Thursday.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will now be able to personally monitor the progress the country is making in the fight against the scourge.
The system dubbed 'The Kenya HIV situation room', will provide up-to date information on the number of people living with the condition and also give information on the availability of Anti-Retroviral(ARVs) drugs in medical facilities across the country.
The application tool, which can be installed in tablets and personal computers, will be mounted at the President's office, and he will get monthly updates on the HIV/Aids situation in the country and the progress of the mitigation measures.
Policy makers in the country and stakeholders in the health sector will be able to get a national picture of the HIV/ Aids situation in the country from the system that draws its data from several independent sub-systems including the public sector, counties and health facilities.
President Kenyatta and Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia on Thursday led other stakeholders from the health sector and a number of diplomats in launching the system, a first of its kind in the world at KICC, in Nairobi.
Through a click of a button, users of the system can tell you how many people are infected with HIV/Aids in a certain town, how many are on medication and what amount of medicine is available at the local health facility.
Speaking at the function, the Head of State said his government is now focusing on fighting the spread of HIV/Aids among adolescents and young people, who were not the main target previously.
"In our past campaigns to reduce the HIV/Aids prevalence, our focus majorly has been on adults, where we reached over 800,000 and put them on ARV's, averting over 500,000 deaths. But our young people have been left behind. Whereas we reached over 80 per cent of adults who need ARVs, we only reached less than half of young people with the condition," he explained.
Uhuru said youth play a critical role in nation building and much more ought to be done to protect them from the pandemic and assist those who already have been infected by HIV/Aids to manage the condition.
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