University students warned against risky behaviour as new HIV infections fall

Chuka University students during a three-day orientation programme. [Phares Mutembei, Standard]

Regular HIV and Aids awareness campaigns have been credited for reducing new infections in Kenya from about 100,000 to the current 13,000, according to the latest data from the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC).

Speaking during a three-day orientation-cum sensitization programme at Chuka University Council’s Eastern Regional Coordinator, Jennie Gakii, cautioned the more than 9,000 first-year students against engaging in risky sexual behaviour.

Gakii said the new students are particularly vulnerable as they transition from secondary school to university life.

She warned that Kenya’s HIV response could face serious challenges if new infections continue to rise, particularly amid declining foreign support for medical programmes.

 “The Kenyan budget for HIV medical care has gone up to 25 billion shillings annually for ARVs and other medicines, with 80 per cent of the funding coming from the US government,” said Gakii.

Gakii noted that the Kenyan government currently caters for only about 23 to 25 per cent of the HIV treatment budget, warning that reduced foreign funding could place additional pressure on the country’s health system.

Chuka University officials echoed the sentiment and urged the new students to focus on their education and avoid choices that could jeopardise their future.

Condom-use advocate Stanley Ngara, popularly known as “The African King of Condoms,” urged the students to exercise responsibility in their relationships.

“Let not the seven minutes of pleasure lead you to eternal regrets,” Ngara told the students.

The three-day sensitization programme focused on HIV prevention and other emerging health and social threats affecting young people and the community.

Recently NCDCC warned that rising  infections among young people threaten to reverse some of the gains achieved.

NSDCC Chief Executive Officer Douglas Bosire said the country's HIV response has transformed dramatically from the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s, when HIV diagnosis was widely perceived as a death sentence.

"It is a fact that the HIV response in this country has evolved and grown tremendously over the last 42 years," Bosire has said.