HOMA BAY, Kenya, Jun 21- The world in which teens are growing up today is different from that of their parents, say two decades ago.
Then, young people were getting into adolescence healthier. During this time HIV has spread rapidly, especially in developing nations, whereby teen pregnancies and sexual gender-based violence are among the contributing factors to the spread of HIV.
Homa Bay County in the south part of Nyanza has recorded 126,000 people infected with HIV/AIDs and they are currently in treatment.
Out of this 97,000 people are seeking treatment from public health facilities while 30,000 are treated at private and faith-based health facilities, according to the County HIV/AIDs coordinator Justus Ochola.
Speaking during the Global Advocacy for HIV prevention program with HIV/AIDs, teen pregnancies, and sexual gender-based violence victims in Rachuonyo Sub-county in Homa Bay County, Ochola decried that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS is still way high.
The county has recorded 33 percent of teen pregnancies between the age of 10 to 19 years, the second-highest in the country after Narok County.
“As per January to April this year, Homa Bay county has recorded 1,441 cases of Sexual gender-based violence while many go unreported since they happen within the community and they get solved locally,” Ochola said.
He said the lack of functional rescue centers is a challenge to SGBV victims since they are forced to stay in their homes where they interact with the perpetrators who other than harassing them, threaten them to silence.
According to Ochola, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancies, and SGBV cases are interlinked.
He also said cases of marital rape are witnessed in the villages and go unreported, leading to the spread of HIV/AIDs.
“Rachuonyo Subcounty is currently having 24,000 HIV/AIDs victims who are under treatment out of the eight sub-counties in our County,” he said.
Further, he noted that a majority of the new victims are aged below 24 years.
“They are sexually active and therefore, they will live for long on ARVs and there is a high risk of spreading the virus,” he said. “Those who were born with HIV/Aids in the 90s through mother-to-child transmission are mature and sexually active.”
SGBV cases affecting young girls, he said, are committed by close relatives who should be protecting them.
Some of the victims, he said, are taken to hospital late, leading to unwanted pregnancies and HIV/Aids.
“It has come to our attention that perpetrators of SGBV contract the virus and run without thinking about the risk they have put themselves into. We advocate for them to seek medical attention to stop the spread of HIV,” Ochola said.
He said in the past three months, Homa Bay county conducted 100,000 HIV tests, and out of this 4,000 people turned positive.
Of those, 3,500 people are on ARVs while 500 who tested positive are not taking medication.
“They are out there speeding this virus,” he lamented.
He has urged the government and international partners to heighten their efforts to curb further infections.
Justus Ochieng from Kolielo village in Rangwe Sub-County said he has been on ARVs for 14 years now after he tested positive for the disease. He is now a champion against the stigmatization of those found positive.
His status led to his separation from his wife, who relocated with his four children to Kisumu County leaving him alone and desperate.
“I am here strong and now a champion against HIV stigma in my village. I walk freely to the health center to pick up medication. I am calling those who are positive not to fear but to be strong so that they can live long,” Ochieng said.
The Helekiah Community-based Organization formed by HIV victims in Rachuonyo Sub-County is helping the community reduce stigma, create awareness for people to come out and test for HIV.
It also creates economic empowerment for its members.
“The group was formed in 2007 to ease the stigma among HIV victims from stigma in the community. Here they encourage one another to fight against HIV and also ensure everyone is taking their drugs. They also do member visitation in their homes to support one another,” Joseph Otieno, a member of the CBO said.
Another CBO in Rangwe Subcounty is helping teen mothers get back to school by providing them with school fees and basics.
They also get to provide support for caregivers who remain with the young ones at home.
The organization started in 2016 and it has supported 80 girls back to school after giving birth to their babies.
The group gives support to these teens and their parents.
For their parents, they are helped to accommodate their daughter’s babies.
“When schools are closed, the teen mums report to our office where we give them phycological support, we have one rule, if you are enrolled in our program and get a second child, we stop supporting you. This has kept many girls abstain from sex and concentrate on their education,” he said.
Rose Achieng, a mother to a teen mother and a beneficiary of this group says her daughter became pregnant when she was in form one at the age of 14.
“I am widowed. I have to go out and look for food and get fees for my children through small casual jobs, but here I am with a baby who needs to be taken care of as the mother goes to school. It’s not easy, “she said.
While a lot of gains have been made in containing the disease, experts warn that widespread cases of SGBV threaten watering down the gains.
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