U.S. to spend $208 mln to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya
Key points
- The United States will spend more than $208 million to prevent new HIV infections and provide life-prolonging AIDS drugs in Kenya in 2006, its embassy in Nairobi said on Friday.
- The funding aims to prevent 32,000 new-born babies from being infected with the AIDS virus and also expand Kenya's capacity for safe blood supply, the embassy said in a statement.
- HIV/AIDS prevalence in the east African country has declined to 7 percent in 2003 from about 10 percent in the late 1990s.
- The new U.S. funding takes place under President George W.
The United States will spend more than $208 million to prevent new HIV infections and provide life-prolonging AIDS drugs in Kenya in 2006, its embassy in Nairobi said on Friday.
The funding aims to prevent 32,000 new-born babies from being infected with the AIDS virus and also expand Kenya's capacity for safe blood supply, the embassy said in a statement.
HIV/AIDS prevalence in the east African country has declined to 7 percent in 2003 from about 10 percent in the late 1990s.
The new U.S. funding takes place under President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, the embassy said.
"More then half ... will support continued rapid expansion of anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment nationwide through a process that currently supports nearly 35,000 Kenyans with ARVs," the statement said.
Thousands of Kenyans living with the virus cannot access even the cheapest ARV drugs, which are too expensive in private hospitals and not available in public ones.
The U.N.'s AIDS agency estimates 26 million of the 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in Africa. The continent accounts for about 3.2 million of the almost 5 million new infections recorded globally in 2005.
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Infections, HIV & STIs →
NewsAfrican business key to AIDS fight - Holbrooke
Africa's businesses are a key weapon in the war against HIV/AIDS but thus far have not done enough to combat the epidemic, Richard Holbrooke said on Thursday. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who now…
8 July 2005
NewsChina AIDS victims fight bad drugs, ineptitude
Wang Shuling's skin is stretched tight over her bones and her body shakes like a leaf, to the point that she cannot walk on her own and her hands are not steady enough to lift a glass of water. Wang, 50, has AIDS and is…
1 July 2005
NewsHIV positive African clergy fight AIDS stigma
A group of African clergy infected with HIV is urging the faithful to test for the virus and admit their status to help fight stigma hampering efforts to stem AIDS in the worst-affected continent. Africa is home to 25…
23 June 2005
