World AIDS Day 2002
HIV/AIDS in Kenya
It is estimated that approximately 2.2 million people in Kenya are living with HIV/AIDS and that around 700 people in the country die every day of HIV-related causes. However, in Europe and America, where advanced treatments have reduced mortality by 80%, HIV/AIDS has come to be regarded as a treatable chronic disease. In places like Kenya, only 6,000 of Kenya's 2.2 million people have access to life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), and HIV/AIDS remains a death sentence.
As such, HIV/AIDS has been declared a national disaster in Kenya. ARV treatments and other essential medicines now used to treat AIDS in the West have been too expensive in countries like Kenya, and legal trade barriers have prevented the import and production of affordable medicines. The link between poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS is evident. Over 50% of Kenya's population is currently living below the poverty line. Much of the population is facing socio-economic and cultural constraints to good sexual health, and sexual exploitation is commonplace.
Under pressure from the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines coalition, of which MSF is a leading member, multinational pharmaceutical companies have lowered the price of ARV treatment in Kenya and other countries in the South. MSF continues to campaign on behalf of patients for improved access to this essential treatment, which can dramatically improve quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Last year, MSF started programmes in critical regions around the world and in Kenya to demonstrate that, in the face of this crisis, treatment programmes can be implemented in even the most resource-poor settings and achieve the same positive results experienced in the West. Partnership with the structures of the local Ministry of Health has been secured to allow MSF teams access to local heath facilities and to aid in the provision of HIV/AIDS medications. In February 2001, MSF and the Ministry of Health of Kenya signed a first agreement for the introduction of ARV therapy in MSF's program in Homa Bay. Patient treatment began in November 2001.
Join us as we visit HIV-treatment centres in Kenya on World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2002. Chat in real-time with MSF personnel and find out what its like to work on the medical front-lines. Sign our petition to the federal government calling for greater access to essential medicines. Hear the voices of our patients, and see our staff in the field.
Enter the World AIDS Day mini-site.
RSS – MSF feed containing news releases, website updates, vacancies, and events [What is RSS?]
MSF PODCASTS – Podcasts from MSF missions around the world
FIELD BLOGS – Personal stories of our volunteers working in the field
BULLETIN BOARD – Discussion fora, job postings, and events
MSF ASSOCIATION – Intranet for MSF Association members
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