Garissa records less than 0.1pc HIV prevalence as Homa Bay tops with 19.6% report

Garissa records less than 0.1pc HIV prevalence as Homa Bay tops with 19.6%  report

A new report has revealed that Garissa County has <0.1% HIV prevalence with Homa Bay leading the pack at 19.6percent.

The study that was conducted between June 2018 and February 2019 showed that Nyanza region had more HIV prevalence than the rest of the country.

Kisumu stands at 17.5% while Siaya and Migori are at 15.3% and 13.0% respectively, according to the Kenya Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (KENPHIA) 2018.

The study found that the national HIV prevalence stood at 4.9% which means that Nyanza region is way above the average.

North Eastern region (where Garissa is located) reported lowest prevalence with the region showing less than 0.2%.

However, it is important to note that 18.8% of participants in Garissa did not offer responses for the survey.

In the same report, HIV prevalence rate in Nairobi stood at 3.8%, Mombasa 5.6%, Nyeri 5.1%, Uasin Gishu 5.5%, Kajiado 4.6%, Turkana 6.8% and Kiambu 1.1%

The report further notes that 1.3million (4.9%) adults are living with HIV while 139,000 (0.7%) children are living with the virus.

“HIV prevalence was twice as high among women at 6.6% (95% CI: 6.0%-7.1%), compared to men at 3.1% (95% CI: 2.7%-3.5%),” the study found.

Kenya has the fifth-largest number of persons living with HIV in the world, and HIV continues to be a leading cause of adult morbidity and mortality.

34,610 individuals participated in survey across the country: 27,897 were aged between 15-64 years and 6,713 were children aged between 0-14 years.

 

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