Global Fund gives Kenya $345m for HIV/Aids fight

[Guest guest]

Global Fund gives Kenya $345m for HIV/Aids fight

By Ciku Kimeria

Posted Sunday, November 13 2011 at 13:19

In the next few weeks, Kenya will be signing a $345 million grant agreement with

the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This grant will fund

various HIV/Aids interventions, and is the first successful grant application to

Global Fund since 2008. (SEE: Grant to boost lucrative drug market)

The success of this application has been attributed to Kenya completing a

national Aids strategic plan in 2009 that detailed the country's needs and plans

for the next few years. Another factor was the collaboration of various

governmental and non-governmental actors in the proposal process.

Given that Kenya faces significant near-future shortages of antiretroviral

drugs, the grant could not have been more timely.

HIV/Aids continue to cause pain and suffering throughout the country. The 2007

Kenya Aids indicator survey showed that 132,000 adults and 34,000 newborn babies

were infected with HIV each year. On average, 44 per cent of new infections took

place in heterosexual relationships within a union/partnership, 20 per cent

through casual relationships among men and women, 15 per cent through sex

workers and their clients, 15 per cent in the homosexual community and prison

populations, and 6 per cent through injecting drug users.

Kenya is thus currently experiencing a mixed epidemic with characteristics of

both a generalised epidemic among the mainstream population, and a concentrated

epidemic among specific most-at-risk populations and geographies. Against this

backdrop, funds from the Global Fund will target areas that are most impactful

in the fight against HIV in the country.

So what exactly does this funding mean for Kenyans — both the infected and the

affected? There will be three main objectives of the funding. The first is the

expansion of care and treatment services to those infected with HIV.

The second is increasing coverage of prevention services, testing services and

interventions targeting the most-at-risk populations.

The third is strengthening of organisations that implement various HIV

programmes such as the National Aids Control Council (NACC), the National AIDS

and Sexually Transmitted Infection Programme (Nascop) and civil society

organisations.

In his 2006 book, The White Man's Burden, economist Easterly highlighted

the trade-off that exists between funding spent on prevention of HIV/Aids

through condoms versus treatment through ARVs. While it is true that funds used

in treatment efforts will not end up being used for prevention efforts (donor

funding is a zero-sum game), recent research shows that treatment by itself

plays a significant role in prevention.

A 2010 study published in the Lancet, the world's leading medical journal,

confirmed arguments that many activists had posited throughout the early 2000s —

that ARVs effectively reduce the virus population in infected persons to a level

that greatly reduces their chances of spreading the disease to non-infected

people. This means that if infected people are started on ARVs early enough, the

disease burden in a population of people can be reduced to a level where it can

be effectively managed, and ideally new infections can be prevented as long as

drug resistance to ARVs doesn't happen.

As such, Kenya's focus on improving care and treatment of infected individuals

will also have a significant prevention impact.

Some key highlights of the first objective of care and treatment of infected

persons are the over $250 million earmarked for procurement of ARVs, monitoring

of emerging drug resistance and adverse drug reactions to ARVs, and provision of

nutritional supplements and rapid uptake therapeutic feeds for people living

with HIV in the 50 districts of highest HIV prevalence (districts defined

according to the borders that existed before promulgation of the new

Constitution.)

The second target objective of the Global Fund grant is increasing coverage of

prevention services, testing services and interventions targeting the

most-at-risk populations. Most-at-risk populations include sex workers,

injecting drug users, homosexuals and prison populations.

Close to $15 million has been set aside for HIV testing and counselling and for

most-at-risk populations including $1.6 million for the launch of pilot

needle-exchange centres to prevent injecting drug users sharing needles, while

close to $1 million has been set aside for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

PEP is short-term antiretroviral treatment to reduce the likelihood of HIV

infection after potential exposure, either occupationally (for example, a nurse

accidentally pricking herself with a needle used on an HIV patient) or through

sexual intercourse (usually used in post-rape care).

The third objective of the Global Fund grant is to sufficiently equip the

non-government actors, government actors and private sector organisations

implementing various initiatives. Close to $50 million has been set apart for

this third objective. The lion's share of these funds will be for capacity

building at the Ministry of Finance, civil sector organisations, the Kenya Red

Cross (acting as the principal recipient for all funds that will go to

non-government actors) and NASCOP.

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Global+Fund+gives+Kenya+345m+dollars+for+HI\

VAids+fight/-/2558/1272342/-/jgj3v9z/-/index.html

[Guest guest]

Global Fund gives Kenya $345m for HIV/Aids fight

By Ciku Kimeria

Posted Sunday, November 13 2011 at 13:19

In the next few weeks, Kenya will be signing a $345 million grant agreement with

the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This grant will fund

various HIV/Aids interventions, and is the first successful grant application to

Global Fund since 2008. (SEE: Grant to boost lucrative drug market)

The success of this application has been attributed to Kenya completing a

national Aids strategic plan in 2009 that detailed the country's needs and plans

for the next few years. Another factor was the collaboration of various

governmental and non-governmental actors in the proposal process.

Given that Kenya faces significant near-future shortages of antiretroviral

drugs, the grant could not have been more timely.

HIV/Aids continue to cause pain and suffering throughout the country. The 2007

Kenya Aids indicator survey showed that 132,000 adults and 34,000 newborn babies

were infected with HIV each year. On average, 44 per cent of new infections took

place in heterosexual relationships within a union/partnership, 20 per cent

through casual relationships among men and women, 15 per cent through sex

workers and their clients, 15 per cent in the homosexual community and prison

populations, and 6 per cent through injecting drug users.

Kenya is thus currently experiencing a mixed epidemic with characteristics of

both a generalised epidemic among the mainstream population, and a concentrated

epidemic among specific most-at-risk populations and geographies. Against this

backdrop, funds from the Global Fund will target areas that are most impactful

in the fight against HIV in the country.

So what exactly does this funding mean for Kenyans — both the infected and the

affected? There will be three main objectives of the funding. The first is the

expansion of care and treatment services to those infected with HIV.

The second is increasing coverage of prevention services, testing services and

interventions targeting the most-at-risk populations.

The third is strengthening of organisations that implement various HIV

programmes such as the National Aids Control Council (NACC), the National AIDS

and Sexually Transmitted Infection Programme (Nascop) and civil society

organisations.

In his 2006 book, The White Man's Burden, economist Easterly highlighted

the trade-off that exists between funding spent on prevention of HIV/Aids

through condoms versus treatment through ARVs. While it is true that funds used

in treatment efforts will not end up being used for prevention efforts (donor

funding is a zero-sum game), recent research shows that treatment by itself

plays a significant role in prevention.

A 2010 study published in the Lancet, the world's leading medical journal,

confirmed arguments that many activists had posited throughout the early 2000s —

that ARVs effectively reduce the virus population in infected persons to a level

that greatly reduces their chances of spreading the disease to non-infected

people. This means that if infected people are started on ARVs early enough, the

disease burden in a population of people can be reduced to a level where it can

be effectively managed, and ideally new infections can be prevented as long as

drug resistance to ARVs doesn't happen.

As such, Kenya's focus on improving care and treatment of infected individuals

will also have a significant prevention impact.

Some key highlights of the first objective of care and treatment of infected

persons are the over $250 million earmarked for procurement of ARVs, monitoring

of emerging drug resistance and adverse drug reactions to ARVs, and provision of

nutritional supplements and rapid uptake therapeutic feeds for people living

with HIV in the 50 districts of highest HIV prevalence (districts defined

according to the borders that existed before promulgation of the new

Constitution.)

The second target objective of the Global Fund grant is increasing coverage of

prevention services, testing services and interventions targeting the

most-at-risk populations. Most-at-risk populations include sex workers,

injecting drug users, homosexuals and prison populations.

Close to $15 million has been set aside for HIV testing and counselling and for

most-at-risk populations including $1.6 million for the launch of pilot

needle-exchange centres to prevent injecting drug users sharing needles, while

close to $1 million has been set aside for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

PEP is short-term antiretroviral treatment to reduce the likelihood of HIV

infection after potential exposure, either occupationally (for example, a nurse

accidentally pricking herself with a needle used on an HIV patient) or through

sexual intercourse (usually used in post-rape care).

The third objective of the Global Fund grant is to sufficiently equip the

non-government actors, government actors and private sector organisations

implementing various initiatives. Close to $50 million has been set apart for

this third objective. The lion's share of these funds will be for capacity

building at the Ministry of Finance, civil sector organisations, the Kenya Red

Cross (acting as the principal recipient for all funds that will go to

non-government actors) and NASCOP.

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Global+Fund+gives+Kenya+345m+dollars+for+HI\

VAids+fight/-/2558/1272342/-/jgj3v9z/-/index.html