A recent report on HIV in Kenya revealed a new concerning trend among men.
According to an AIDs Healthcare Foundation (AHF) study, the positivity rate in men increased to 3.1% in 2022, up from around 2.5% in 2021.
This is the first time since 2015 that men’s positivity has exceeded that of women, which was 2.7% in 2022, according to the report.
The AHF Country Programme Director, Dr Samuel Kinyanjui, attributed the trend to’mubaba’ culture (cross-generational relationships) and men having relationships with both men and women.
“Men are now having relations with other men. Men engaging with men has been identified as a very risky behaviour…it is very easy to contract HIV. The other trend we are seeing is the mubaba culture. A man is sponsoring a lady in life and because he believes or was told he is the only one, he does not use protection…he doesn’t know several other men are paying rent for the same lady and they have also been informed they are the only ones,” Kinyanjui commented during the release of the report.
The doctor also stated that men have more partners than women, which he believes is contributing to the increase in positivity.
The multiple partner factor was consistent with the findings of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022, which revealed that Kenyan men have an average of seven partners.
Kinyanjui, on the other hand, was emphatic that women continue to bear the heaviest burden of the disease, revealing that of the 96,601 AHF patients, 65,336 were women, while 31,265 were men.
“We understand that men are not good at getting tested. Some wait until the disease has taken a terrible toll before showing up for treatment. This should stop,” he added.
According to Janet Musimbi, Programme Officer- Adolescent and Youth (National Syndemic Diseases Control Council), HIV prevalence is increasing in previously low-burden counties.
According to her, the counties with the highest prevalence are Homa Bay (15.2%), Kisumu (14.5%), Siaya (13.2%), Migori (9.7%), Busia (5%), Mombasa (4.8%), Kisii (4.4%), Samburu (4.3), Vihiga (4.2%), and Uasin Gishu (3.7%).
In terms of teen pregnancies, she identified Meru as the county with the highest burden, noting that the county led by Governor Kawera Mwangaza had the highest number recorded between January and May 2023.
It was followed by Narok, Tana River, Samburu, West Pokot, Homa Bay and Kisii.
“About 6% of pregnancies occurred among girls aged 10-14 between 2016-2022. Between Jan- May 2023, Meru County had the highest proportion of adolescent pregnancies (10-19) in the country at 26%. Sexual and Age-related heterogeneity – young women aged 15-24 years are approximately four times more likely to become infected with HIV than young men,” she said.
