President William Ruto has said Kenya is keen on ending HIV/AIDS in children by 2027.
Speaking on Tuesday during the 20th anniversary of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR),
Ruto said the government has increase it’s financial injection by Sh 1 billion to prevent supply disruption.
Ruto however, thanked PEPFAR for supporting Kenya in fighting the the disease, saying it has channeled over US dollars 6.5 billion since 2004.
“As a result, there has been a 68.5 percent reduction in new HIV infection.53 per cent reduction in HIV-related mortality.It is accompanied by tremendous improvement in the quality of life of persons living with HIV,” said President Ruto.
Ruto noted that the number of people living with HIV is 1.4million, of whom 1.3million receive anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
He adds saying that they get ART from more than 3,000 health facilities across the country.
“This number includes over 48,000 children as well as 55,000 breastfeeding mothers on HIV treatment,” he said.
Further, he argued that the Universal Healthcare Coverage pillar offers an opportunity to effectively address the domestic financing gap with respect to HIV.
“I call on all stakeholders to embrace this opportunity and make their contribution to a transformed and sustainable national HIV response.”
In attendance, US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman who urged Kenya to continue working in collaboration with the private sector in containing the disease.
She said the partnership between the government and the private sector remains key to elimination of HIV/AIDS.
“We must work together in creating awareness on the dangers posed by HIV,” she said.
She assured to support Kenya through PEPFAR in efforts to ensure the child HIV transmission mission is eliminated by the year 2027.
