10 January 2019 – 01:01
Journalists in Cape Town and Nairobi wait to speak to health officials about the number of new cases of the HIV/Aids virus, in Nairobi, Kenya
Photo Credit: Shaunas Nirerwaki/Public Service Media Agency
Last month, Kenya announced the highest number of Aids cases since 2008.
According to a briefing note by the Kenya National Aids Control Council (KNACC), the number of new HIV infections in 2017 was 6,685, which is a jump of 4,500 since 2015.
Cases of HIV/Aids testing also have increased exponentially.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that Africa is home to more HIV/Aids patients than anywhere else in the world.
Recently, WHO published new guidelines for HIV testing and treatment, and most of the guidelines were in alignment with those that would be imposed on the healthcare system in the United States and Europe.
However, even within the guidelines, the amount of testing available in Africa, for example, is severely lacking compared to that in other regions of the world.
Information shared with the media indicated that the African Region reported only 63% of the mandated testing.
WHO also published updated data on HIV and AIDS cases recorded globally.
The WHO estimates that the number of people newly infected with HIV has surpassed 50 million – the first time that has happened.
The majority of the increase in the cases recorded was reported between 2015 and 2017.
According to the most recent data from UN statistics, Africa is home to 52% of the world’s newly diagnosed HIV cases.