Kenya has been nominated to host the 2025 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA).
This will come after Zimbabwe which will host a similar meeting in 2023.
The announcement follows the Society for AIDS in Africa’s (SAA) assessment visit in September 2022.
According to Luc Armand Bodea, ICASA director and SAA coordinator, Kenya was in a transition period during the assessment, so the SAA Board decided to allow Kenya to host ICASA 2025.
Every two years ICASA convenes in Africa to catalyze African leadership and ownership, as well as investment, to support the continental response to HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), related co-morbidities, and other emerging health issues.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
ICASA attracts nearly 15,000 delegates from government delegations, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
Adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24, who make up only 10% of the population in this region, are responsible for one out of every four new HIV infections.
AIDS was still the leading cause of death in Africa by the end of 2021.
SAA officials will travel to Kenya in early 2023 to meet with top government officials, where they expect the country to sign the ICASA 2025 host country agreement.
The SAA assured Kenya of continued collaboration in advancing HIV response progress.
The hosting of the ICASA conference will set the tone for Kenya to contribute to the global conversation about how to sustain HIV treatment and prevention programs in resource-constrained countries.
Kenya has Africa’s second largest HIV treatment program, with 1.2 million people on ARVS.
As external funding sources dry up, the country has been looking into local manufacturing options.
Kenya needs about Sh25.4 billion per year to keep the HIV treatment and prevention supply chain running smoothly.
