A special programme targeting adolescents against HIV/Aids has been launched in Homa Bay by the local government in association with Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF).

Through the campaign, the government wants to ensure that maximum youth, especially adolescents, are sensitised on HIV and Aids in the county, and that the targeted population knows their HIV status and, if needed, goes in for treatment.

The county director of EGPAF, Eliud Mwangi, said a large number of youth in the county are not aware about their health status and most of them may be vulnerable to the virus.

A recent report compiled by the National Aids Control Council paints a grim picture about the incidence of HIV/Aids in the county. It shows that at 25.7%, much higher as compared to the country’s 6.04%, Homa Bay has the highest HIV prevalence rate in Kenya. And the most worrying factor is that this data does not include the youths and the adolescents.

Addressing the students at the inaugural Homa Bay Adolescents Health Symposium at Homa Bay High School, Mwangi said, “We have specifically set aside some funds to run the programme for the youth who have not been actively involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Homa Bay, which has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country”.

Willis Omwonyo of the County Aids and STI Control (CASCO), however, said they were in the process of creating data base on HIV programme for youths, especially the adolescents, so as to ascertain the exact figure of the infected teenagers.

Omwonyo said the adolescents must be involved if they wanted to tackle HIV infections and sexual reproduction in Homa Bay. “It is a fact that one out of four people in Homa Bay is living with HIV, the question is what are we doing about it”, he added.