HIV infections in Nyeri highest in Central, report shows

Nyeri County has recorded the highest rate of HIV/Aids infections in Central region at 4.3 per cent, sending health professionals into panic.

The most worrying thing is that the prevalence is among youth aged between 18 and 24 years, a report shows.

According to the National Aids Control Council (NACC), two youth in the age bracket die from the disease on a daily basis, while three more are infected with the virus daily.

Kirinyaga County is second in the prevalence rate at 3.2 per cent, while in Kiambu it stands at 2.97 per cent, Murang’a 2.8 per cent and Nyandarua has a rate of 2.7 per cent.

“There is an overall increase in the number of people infected with HIV/Aids in the county and there is need for concerted efforts between the county and national governments to arrest the situation,” said Ms Monicah Koome, NACC coordinator in Mt Kenya region.

Youth

Ms Koome further noted that the numbers are alarming as figures from 2020 show that 42 per cent of the infections are new cases reported in youth below 25.

“We attribute the high infection rate to idleness and lack of meaningful occupation among the youth which makes them more vulnerable. Keeping them busy and in school could help reduce the infection rates by 30 per cent,” she noted.

While there are 1.5 million people living with the virus in Kenya, the council notes that women and girls account for 942,000 people infected with HIV/Aids, which is more than half of the total infections.

“This should be a wakeup call for us as a nation because we will not have a generation if people in this age group are the ones getting infected with the virus,” she noted, adding that girls are being infected because they have no one to mentor them.

She further stated that parents had relegated their duties to teachers and house helps, further making the children to engage in unsupervised activities, especially on social media.

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