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Kenyan men are avoiding highly effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), leading to more deaths from HIV / AIDS than women, according to new data, reflecting gender barriers in the fight against the disease.
Data from the Ministry of Health show that 713,500 infected women are receiving antiretroviral treatment, compared with 322,100 men.
This is despite the increase in the number of antiretroviral treatment centers from 2,700 to 3,325, in response to the growing number of new infections each year.
Even though the number of adults in need of antiretroviral therapy has increased more than twice, from about 627,900 people in 2010 to 1.38 million in 2017, men still are not receptive to treatment as women.
Antiretrovirals have seen women reduce the number of deaths from HIV / AIDS despite their high rates of infection.
New infections among women remain higher than those of men with 158,264 cases, a little over 60% of the total of 260,457 since 2013.
The men had 102,194 new infections during the same period, which coincided with the high number of deaths.
The report of the National AIDS Council (CNLS) indicates that 13,829 men died last year, compared to 10,074 women who died during the same period, a trend that has been maintained for five years.
The report also indicates that 82,933 men have died since 2013, representing 56% of the total number of deaths that totaled 147,322 in 2017.
The number of women who died during a similar period was 64,395, or just over 40% of all deaths.
According to the ministry, about 2.2 million AIDS-related deaths have occurred throughout the HIV epidemic through 2017, indicating that the number of HIV-positive people taking drugs is increasing, plus the number of preventable deaths.
At the same time, HIV testing among young people is also low, especially among young men. The inability of some men in the adult population to follow their treatment could be detrimental, according to the ministry. About 635,500 AIDS deaths have been averted since antiretroviral therapy began in 2004 and last year.
The number of new infections among women reached 27,233 and that of men, 17,556.
Nairobi leads new infections among young people with 2,587 cases, followed by Homa Bay with 1,852.
The three lake counties of Siaya (1,641), Kisumu (1,630) and Migori (1,143) follow closely.
The five counties account for 61% of all new infections among youth aged 15 to 24 years.
Mombasa is leading the counties with the least new infections with 562 cases, followed by Kakamega with 596 and Kiambu, which registered 730 cases last year.
The NACC report shows that 55% of girls aged 15 to 19 were tested for HIV, while 44% of boys in the same age group sought their status.
The number of men aged 20 to 24 was much lower; only 67% of them in this age group discovered their status.
Young women in this age group, however, were more independent and willing to know their status with 91% of the female population in the target group.
In absolute terms, new HIV infections in all age groups increased from 77,200 in 2010 to 52,800 in 2017, indicating a 32% decline in the number of new annual infections nationally despite population growth. .
According to the AASB, the improvement is the result of more and better campaigns resulting from the increase in total expenditures, which went from 121 billion shillings in 2016/2017 to 73 billion shillings in 2015 / 2016.
There has also been a decline in the total number of people living with HIV in Kenya – estimated at 1.5 million in 2017 – including 105,200 children.
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