HIV testing hopes to be carried out on 80 percent of Kenya’s 40 million-strong population by 2013, an HIV expert said in the country on Friday.
Peter Cherutich is the Deputy Director and Head of HIV Prevention at the National Aids and STIs Control Program (NASCOP).
"As a country, we want everyone, be it children, old men or pregnant women to know their HIV status," Cherutich told an HIV forum in Nairobi, Xinhua reports.
He added that Kenya will also strengthen HIV patient care, so that once a patient’s status is known, they can then access anti-retroviral drugs to reduce chances of transmission.
About 60 percent of Kenyans currently know their HIV status, according to Cherutich, reports Xinhua.
“Various strategies have been put in place to encourage all adults to know their HIV status but about 40 percent of people in this country have never undergone a HIV test," he said.
Thos who are untested, he added, have impeded the government's plans to control new HIV infections, which remain high.
Cherutich noted that despite the many people who don’t know their status, Kenya is ahead of other countries in the East African region for the number of people who know their HIV status, Xinhua reports.
