Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Monday, May 12, 2025, engaged the UNAIDS delegation on the advancement of Kenya’s HIV/AIDS response.
The delegation led by Country Director Medhin Tsehaiu updated the CS on the UNAIDS “H6 Partnership,” which brings together UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, WHO, UNAIDS, and the World Bank Group to deliver technical support and strengthen health and social systems.
In a statement, Duale acknowledged the longstanding support of UNAIDS in Kenya’s HIV response and called for continued collaboration.
“I urge for collaboration in implementing Kenya’s HIV Sustainability and Transition Plan, with a focus on resilient HIV response beyond 2030, elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission, and advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” he said.
Further, he emphasised the need for alignment with the Social Health Authority and digital health services as critical components of UHC rollout, while reiterating the Ministry’s commitment to integrity and accountability.
UNAIDS plays a central role in coordinating the work of 11 UN agencies, offering strategic support to national HIV responses, and leveraging partnerships in line with national development priorities and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.
The CS was accompanied by Public Health PS Mary Muthoni, Director General for Health Patrick Amoth, and Senior Deputy Director for Health Sultani Matendechero.
HIV prevalence
This engagement comes a few months after the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) stated that about 16,752 Kenyans were newly diagnosed with HIV.
“At least 51 per cent of new HIV infections occur in nine counties,” NSDCC said.
These counties are Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Migori, Homa Bay, Uasin Gishu (home of Eldoret city), Siaya, Mombasa, Kakamega, Kericho and Kajiado.
“There is a greater focus on new infections (also known as incidence) nowadays, because the trend reveals who is at the greatest risk of infection. This helps in targeting the response more efficiently,” read the report in part.
On the other hand, prevalence, which measures the fraction of Kenyans living with HIV at a given time, shows that Kisumu leads, followed by Homa Bay, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Mombasa, Nairobi and Uasin Gishu.
The new infections are a welcome reduction from 2022, when about 22,000 people were newly infected.
However, deaths rose from 18,473 in 2022 to 20,480 in 2023, attributed to rising deaths among men.
NSDCC is mandated to lead and coordinate multi-sectoral partnerships in HIV response and other syndemic diseases.
