By Hope Barbra
Four Governors from Uasin Gishu, Samburu, Homa Bay and West Pokot were recently summoned to State House to give an explanation over rising cases HIV/Aids prevalence in their regions.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathin Bii recently revealed at a function that they were summoned by First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto to give an explanation on the matter and how they intend to tackle it.
“There is bad news. Yesterday, we were in State House with Mama Rachel, she summoned four counties that have a serious problem of rising cases of high HIV/aids prevalence.
The prevalence is increasing in these regions. First suspect was Uasin Gishu, I was summoned to go State House, to respond to why people have HIV/aids in my county.
Second suspect was West Pokot, third suspect was Homa Bay, and fourth was Samburu.
My people, it is so embarrassing when you are summoned to State House and sked to respond to question like why is it that in your county, HIV/Aids prevalence was on the increase, and you are the governor. What are you doing about it?” he said.
He explained that the increasing prevalence could be as a result of a new phenomenon of emerging night life in the city.
He said emerging night life in Eldoret town was a major contributor to the increasing HIV/aids prevalence in Uasin Gishu especially in Eldoret.
“We have several tertiary institutions in the area with a huge population of young people. When I walk at night in the Eldoret Central Business District at night. I normally get shocked. If you pass by the clubs, you will find over 1000 vehicles parked outside and you wonder if the owners are residents of Eldoret.
When you look at the vehicles, they don’t belong to the farmers and residents of Eldoret.
There are people who frequent the city as far as from Kakamega, Nairobi, Nakuru they visit the city on Friday for entertainment.
They frequent the clubs because of the high presence of students in the city, and I want to declare, we will not allow our students to engage in nonacademic activities in the city,” he said.
Bii said moving forward he will be inspecting the town and whip students engaged in nonacademic activities in the night.
He said parents have invested in their children education and it was prudent for the learners to understand the importance of the investment.
Uasin Gishu County’s adult HIV prevalence was reported as 3.7% in late 2023, lower than the national average, but the county is experiencing a rise in new HIV infections and is now ranked among the top counties for these new infections according to the 2024 Modes of Transmission study. In 2018, the county had an adult HIV prevalence of 3.9%.
HIV prevalence in West Pokot County is 1.6%, according to 2017 estimates, which is lower than the national average of 4.8% at that time. Recent information indicates the county continues to make progress in the HIV response, with its prevalence dropping from 3.2% to 2.8% over a five-year period. The county is still considered to be in the medium HIV incidence cluster nationally and faces challenges with stigma, inadequate access to HIV services, and a shortage of healthcare workers.
HIV prevalence in Samburu County was 2.2% in 2015, which was lower than the national prevalence of 5.9% at that time, according to the National Syndemit Disease Control Council (NSDCC).
Homa Bay County’s HIV prevalence was estimated at 15.2% in 2023, a significant reduction from over 23% a decade prior. While still high compared to the national average, the county has seen considerable progress, with new HIV infections and HIV-related deaths declining substantially, alongside improvements in treatment adherence.
