Background
The East African country of Kenya has a population of 39 million people. Approximately one-third of its population lives in the country’s urban areas. Kenya has a per capita income of $783.4 US, among the highest in Africa.
Health Care System
Kenya’s healthcare system consists of a mix of public and private services staffed by more than 4,500 physicians and 37,000 nurses. The system is based on a referral system extending from Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi through provincial and district hospitals to rural health centers and dispensaries. A rapidly growing population and the HIV epidemic have put increasing strain on the country’s ability to provide basic health services. The average life expectancy is 51 years of age.
Despite considerable success in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, an estimated 1 million Kenyans are HIV-infected, or about 7.4 percent of the population. HIV/AIDS accounts for more than half of all hospital admissions. In addition, HIV/AIDS has orphaned an estimated 1 million children in Kenya.
ICAP in Kenya
In 2004, ICAP at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, through collaboration with Indiana University, began supporting the government of Kenya in its efforts to provide HIV/AIDS services in the Western Region of the country. In 2006, with support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), ICAP began supporting HIV/AIDS care and treatment services in the country’s Central Province and, subsequently, in the southern region of Eastern Province and Nyanza Province
In partnership with the Ministry of Health, ICAP supports an array of capacity-building activities. They include renovations of clinics and laboratories, provision of equipment and supplies, clinical training, assistance with medical records systems, and strengthening of services to promote adherence.
Support for Programmatic Activities
ICAP supports a full range of HIV/AIDS services, including:
• Pediatric and adult HIV/AIDS services, including antiretroviral therapy (ART)
• Early-infant diagnosis through dried blood spot PCR testing
• Care for HIV-infected pregnant women and their children within Family Care Clinics
• Integrated TB/HIV care
• Provider-initiated counseling and testing
• Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission
• HIV/AIDS support groups
• Community outreach
Program Data
As of March, 2011, ICAP supports 510 care and treatment clinics in Kenya that have provided HIV care to 230,968 people, including ART to 65,509 including ART to 107,387 people. ICAP also supports 189 laboratories in Kenya.
Partnerships
In support of the scale-up of HIV/AIDS services in Kenya, ICAP’s partnerships include:
• National AIDS and Sexually Transmission Diseases Control Program (NASCOP) – A division of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive and Promotive Services which coordinates HIV and sexually transmitted infection services in the country.
• Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) – Currently, ICAP is collaborating with KEMRI on a nutrition study of HIV-infected people starting ART.
• AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance Program (APHIA Plus – Central and Eastern Provinces) – A consortium of JIPHEGO, an international organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University, ICAP, LVCT, NOPE, AMREF and Kenya Red Cross. APHIA Plus is funded by the United States Agency for International Development to support HIV/AIDS and TB services, , reproductive health/family planning, malaria, and maternal and child health services.
• Clinton Foundation – Supports pediatric HIV/AIDS services, including purchase of pediatric drug formulations and transport of dried blood samples to a central laboratory for early infant diagnosis.
• AIDS Relief – A consortium of organizations including the Catholic Medical Mission Board, Catholic Relief Services, Futures Group, and the University of Maryland.