OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: Next month, a pilot HIV-prevention program will seek to reach 40,000 people in western Kenya with voluntary HIV/AIDS tests, malaria and diarrhea prevention tools, and condoms -- Kenyan school girls © Julius Mwelu/IRINall over the course of one week.

• Despite the massive human and economic losses Kenya has suffered from the HIV/AIDS epidemic, "there are very encouraging signs of success in the fight against the virus – prevalence at the end of 2006 was 5.1%, down from 10% in the late 1990s." Read more in OneWorld UK's Kenya country guide.

• Biological, socio-cultural, and economic factors intersect to make women and girls more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, says reproductive health blogger Julia Matthews. For this reason, many women's rights advocates urge policy makers to focus prevention and treatment efforts on women. Nonetheless, one specific prevention method that empowers women while also protecting them from HIV/AIDS has been routinely overlooked. Over the last 15 years, female condoms could have spared millions of women from HIV-infection and unwanted pregnancies, but minimal funding and the absence of this contraceptive in HIV/AIDS and family planning programs have inhibited such gains, says a new report released at the recent International AIDS Conference.

INTEGRATED PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

From: Vestergaard Frandsen in partnership with the CDC, the Kenya Ministry of Health, CHF International

• First-ever private sector testing campaign offers hope of diminishing HIV/AIDS, malaria and water-borne diseases ravishing developing
  worlds
• Unique pilot program expected to be a replicable disease control model offering:
  • ** multi-disease control interventions
  • ** mass reach -- more than 40,000 people in one week

What It Is:

The Integrated Prevention Demonstration (IPD) is a pilot program that is the first to deliver multiple disease control interventions to a large population - more than 40,000 people. Over a seven-day, multi-site event, residents of a Western Kenyan community will receive a free integrated public health package as an incentive for large numbers of at-risk people to take a voluntary HIV test. Residents will be given a rapid HIV test and counseling, and receive a basic care package of malaria and diarrhea prevention tools (bed nets and water purifiers) and condoms. Counseling and
referrals to community support services will be given to people who test positive for HIV. The goal will be to test at least 75% of the target community, and prove that mass testing campaigns can help developing countries rapidly scale-up their rates of voluntary testing.

IPD Locations:

The IPD will take place at 30 sites throughout the Lurambi division of Kakamega central district, Western Province Kenya. (Specific locations to come.)

Why This Approach:

Insufficient progress has been made with current public health methods aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS, malaria and water related diseases in developing countries. Most approaches to date have focused on one disease only, and outreach has been mainly one-on-one (such as door-to-door visits). Most of these campaigns provide preventive products only for people who are HIV+. These approaches are slow and costly, and their acceptance level by recipients has been extremely low.

Potential Health Impact:

Kenya has an estimated population of 34.2 million people, of which about 1.3-1.5 million are living with HIV/AIDS. Current rates of voluntary HIV testing are estimated at 20% annually. Kenya's 2010 target is to ensure that 75% of the population know their HIV status.

The benefit of knowing one's HIV sero-status is significant. It provides an entry point for HIV+ individuals to access anti-retroviral treatment (ART) which dramatically improves the quality and duration of life. It may also reduce the risk of transmission by decreasing viral load. For the majority of Kenyans who are not infected, HCT is a first step toward risk reduction.

Malaria and water-related diarrhea diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality to the entire population, and are of particular concern to HIV+ individuals. Malaria results in 350 to 500 million illnesses and more than one million deaths annually. Up to five million people die each year from waterborne diarrhea disease. Chronic diarrhea is a leading cause of death for people with AIDS, and adversely affects up to 90% of HIV patients. The proper use of insecticide-treated nets and water purifiers has the potential to significantly reduce HIV/AIDS, malaria and diarrhea diseases.

About Vestergaard Frandsen:

Vestergaard Frandsen is an international company specializing in complex emergency response and disease control products. The company operates under a unique Humanitarian Entrepreneurship business model. This "profit for a
purpose" approach has turned humanitarian responsibility into its core business. Vestergaard Frandsen was founded in Denmark in 1957, and has evolved into a multinational leader focused on helping to achieve the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. For more information, visit www.vestergaard-frandsen.com.

Click here for more on how CHF helps reinforce local communities' efforts to fight AIDS.

To read more about emergency response and disease control, visit Vestergaard Frandsen.