35,000 new HIV infections reported among young Kenyan women

At least 35,000 new HIV infections have been reported among women aged 15-24 in the last one year.

National Aids Control Council (NACC) Director Nduku Kilonzo, who released the statistics in Nairobi yesterday, called on stakeholders to increase their efforts to reverse the trend.

"There is no way we will eliminate transmission of the virus from mothers to children if young women are getting new infections at such a high rate," Dr Kilonzo told over 1,000 delegates from 10 countries attending the 7th National Organisation of Peer Educators (NOPE) conference.

The United Nations hopes to eliminate mother-to-child transmission by the year 2020.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who spoke at the same conference lauded activities geared towards reducing the spread of HIV and Aids.

She said efforts towards zero prevalence must be embraced by all noting much more needs to be done to win the war against the disease.

"I see this meeting as a sign of commitment in the global war in which we have lost people and dreams," Mrs Kenyatta said.

NOPE Executive Director Philip Waweru said the youth must play a key role in the war against HIV and Aids noting peer-to-peer education would be the most effective way to empower young people to make the right choices.

"That we meet here today to deliberate together is a sign of strength and resolve to move forward together towards zero prevalence," said Mr Waweru, the founder of the Conference that brings together community workers, researchers, medics and donors in the war against HIV/Aids.

United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and Aids representative Pirrko Heinonen noted the Kenya still faces challenges in reducing infections.

She called on participants at the the three-day meeting to provide ideas on how to save young people from the disease.

"Statistics about the new infections are not just numbers but people who could be a sister, mother, brother, aunt, father or uncle. That is why we must all work together to win war against HIV/Aids," she added.

The Aids Support Organisation (TASO) founder Mrs Noerine Kaleeba said stakeholders must ensure interventions against Aids are integrated so they do not to confuse the populations.

"Messages of abstinence from sex, faithfulness to one partner, use of condoms and delay in engaging sexual activities among teenagers should not be mutually exclusive. Depending on the situation, a combination could save more lives," she said.

Mrs Kaleeba shocked participants she narrated how she has lived with HIV for over 28 years. Her husband Chris Kaleeba died from the disease a year diagnosis.

Her son who was born with HIV has grown to become a medical doctor and has a HIV-free son.

Mrs Kaleeba urged political leaders to play a leading role in the war against the disease and lauded Mrs Kenyatta for her commitment in the fight against Aids and other diseases through her Beyond Zero campaign.

The US government representative who is also the Head of the President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief, Kathy Perry, said they will soon release part of the USD85 million (Sh8.5 billion) to Kenyan organisations in the war on HIV.

Meanwhile, institutions involved in the search for an HIV vaccine are faced with numerous challenges including ethical, clinical and financial.

Two researchers, Dr Borna Nyaoke of Kenya Aids Vaccine Initiative and Emmanuel Museve of the University of Nairobi said, HIV has developed multiple mechanisms to evade the body's defences, and has complicated systematic research towards the vaccine.

"It is difficult to even conduct pre-clinical trials in some countries and some find it unethical to use animal guinea pigs for tests trials," they said.