National Aids Control Council (NACC) Director Prof, Alloys Orago briefing the media at a past event. PHOTO / FILE
A government official responsible for the fight against HIV/Aids wants people who have lost spouses to re-marry as a way of fighting the disease.
This would allow them live a positive and full life, said the National AIDS Control Council director, Prof Alloys Orago.
The latest Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicates that the HIV prevalence for girls is 2.8 per cent while that of boys is 0.5 per cent in the 15-19 years age bracket.
For those in 20-24 years bracket, women have 6.4 per cent HIV prevalence while it is 1.5 per cent for men.
Prof Orago urged parents not to further their careers at the expense of spending valuable time with their children. He said this would reduce their chances of getting into reckless behaviour that would expose them to contracting the virus.
He cited the new culture of many employed Kenyans attending evening classes after work as responsible for the youths’ reckless behaviour.
He warned that if parents delegated their roles, the number of new infections would continue rising.
“Parents should not just tell their children to abstain from pre-marital sex, they should also emphasise on building the character of their children,” he noted.
Prof Orago spoke when he officiated the opening of a voluntary counselling centre at the Teachers Service Commission headquarters in Nairobi ahead of the World Aids Day on Wednesday.
He commended TSC’s commitment to fighting the spread of the disease by establishing a vibrant Aids control unit, which runs a VCT centre at its headquarters.
He urged for the decentralisation of the unit to all the TSC branches countrywide.
“Kenya is well on track in attaining universal access to treatment in line with this year’s theme ‘Universal access and human right’,” said Prof Orago.
Commentaires