Alarm over rise in advanced HIV among patients living with unmanaged virus

Medics and researchers are raising alarm over advanced HIV disease that occurs in people living with HIV that is not managed.

According to the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), the number of AIDS-related deaths has been confused with non-communicable diseases.

The fight against HIV/AIDS in the country has seen big milestones in the last few years but the efforts are facing challenges with some people living with HIV presenting themselves to the hospital late for testing while others are stopping medication due to factors like medication fatigue and stigma.

“When we talk about advanced HIV, we are talking about trends that we used to see a long time coming back the fact that we have free medication,” says Nelson Otwoma, the director of NEPHAK.

“In 2022 we had 18,000 AIDS-related deaths and we believe they can be prevented,” adds Dr Lazarus Momanyi, an advisor at the National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCOP).

according to the World Health Organization (WHO), all children under the age of five years are considered to have advanced HIV disease due to their immature immunity.

Medics are calling on healthcare facilities across the country to find out the status of any person admitted as some fail to disclose and end up defaulting on drugs while in hospitals.

“We have noted late diagnosis, especially in men,” adds Dr Momanyi.

According to the Ministry Of Health, TB is still the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, the infection rate of TB among this community of people is at 25 per cent.

“We have done a lot in TB but we still see people coming out with coughs. What we are doing is that if we screen and find out you don't have TB, we put you under TB preventive therapy to prevent you,” Momanyi says.