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Kirstie Allen
Health Essay 3
June 9
th
, 2014
Education on AIDS in Kenya
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has become an epidemic in many undeveloped, rural regions.
Although it does exists in developed nations, it is more prevalent in places such Asia, South
American, and South Africa. The utmost severe problems of AIDS statuses fall within the
countries in Africa, focusing heavily on Kenya. Kenya is located in south-east Africa with a
population estimated to be about 43.18 million. As of 2012, there is an astonishing high of 1.646
million Kenyans living with HIV/AIDS. Within the year 2012, 62,000 people have died from
AIDS related illnesses. Making this country to be one of the highest in the world suffering from
AIDS.
Kenya is home to one of the worlds harshest HIV and AIDS epidemic. In the book,
Piecing the Puzzle by Larry Krotz, uncovers the critical health conditions in Africa and the
epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Krotz studies the global health concern that is becoming
todays pandemic. He argues that HIV/AIDS is spread through a lack of education and awareness
within the people living in Africa; focusing mainly on Kenya. Krotz realized that it is important
to institute community-based peer education programs to this region (Krotz 42). By providing
educational and awareness programs and promoting the understanding of risk factors that
increases the chance of developing HIV that can eventually lead to AIDS, may lower the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS and even decrease the spread of any other Sexual Transmitted Diseases
(STDs).
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Defending the problem of AIDS in Kenya is a huge challenge. The prevalence of
HIV/AIDS in Kenya is due to the lack of education on proper health, vulnerable groups such as
women who sell sex known as sex workers, those who are sexual active, and weak health
services across the nation. Krotz believes that by strengthen the educations programs and finding
research strategies to better understand why this is such an epidemic, will decrease and control
the spreads of AIDS in Kenya.
HIV and AIDS education and awareness is an essential part of HIV prevention that
Kenya lacks. Providing proper educational programs and schools for all ages will help develop a
better understand of what exactly HIV is, how it is spread, and how to prevent it among this
nation. In Kenya, the government alone was reluctant to even admit that HIV/AIDS was a
problem in this country (Krotz 41). The lack of accurate governing shows that Kenya is going to
face many challenging when it comes to educating the nation and becoming aware of the risks if
HIV and STDs. The Government of Kenya should take action on their country in protecting
their people from becoming ill and eventually dying of a preventable cause. With the
government of Kenya hiding the fact that this is a huge concern in their country, lowers the
chances to give the people living in Kenya an adequate education system.
International health agencies and foreign aid agencies, decided to take action once it was
noticeable that AIDS is a major concern within this country. The Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) investigated how HIV/AIDS is spread amongst this country. With
the help of other agencies, this can provide the government of Kenya to have a better
understanding on how important education systems are needed in prevention and control. Some
main indicators that may provide education Kenyans is the proper use of condoms, the
importance of having intercourse with one person, and HIV testing on an appropriate basis. To
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provide these educational systems, since Kenya is a low-income rural area country, they need
funding and support by other organizations or agencies. The National AIDS Control Programme
(NACP) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) both wanted to take
action and support foreign donor funding to help programs in Kenya to provide protocols in
HIV/AIDS prevention (Krotz 40-41). These funding may provide clinics and educational
programs that can help encourage the use of condoms, influence the understanding of having just
one sex partner, and provide a free HIV and STD testing for Kenyans.
However, educational programs and a high range of clinics with HIV testing may help
lower the risk and spread of HIV among Kenya, there are still other indicators on why education
may not be the right answer. Women and young girls are becoming vulnerable when it comes to
having sex. Many women in this country sell their bodies to others in the exchange for sex,
calling themselves sex workers. In Kenya, there are many living in poverty and rural areas
which makes it very common for a women living in these conditions to sell sex for a living
(Krotz 73). In the book, Piecing the Puzzle, Larry Krotz studied Journal of Infectious Diseases
by Peter Piot and Fran Plummer. In this study, they examined 446 sex workers and found that 61
percent of them where HIV-positive. By having astonishing high HIV-positive sex workers,
leads to a more rapid spread among other individuals who may or may not affected.
Education on the use of condoms is extremely important on a way to prevent the spread
of STD among sex workers. Elizabeth Naugi, one of the most dedicated public education
officials who works in Kenya, knew that the research and prevention of AIDS will take time,
but took action by demonstrating the use of a condom within groups of women focusing in
Nairobi. She has reported that three-quarters of the women sex workers used condoms three-
quarters of the time, or some in variant of that pattern (Krotz 42-45). The use of condoms
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increased in this country by education and promoting condoms and why it is important to
practice safe sex. Education is the major part for the increase of condom use due to promoting
the safety of condoms in public with the display of posters everywhere that included bras and
one-on-one instruction of the use of condoms.
By educating sex workers the importance of the use of a condom to lower the risk of
HIV, many women who sell sex has reported, The customer will pay more for no condom
(Krotz 45). In this case, both men and women were willing ready to take their chances of
catching a STD or HIV/AIDS by having unsafe sex with strangers multiple times. Though there
can be education programs on the use of a condom and are easily available, many Kenyans still
prefer having sex without the use of a condom. By not using a condom in these situations, the
women having sex for a living with multiple partners can higher the chance of catching this
preventable virus and sexual transmitted diseases which can eventually spread, and lead to
AIDS.
Also, various men in Kenya have a different view on sex than in many Western-
Influenced regions. Numerous men in this country believe that A man who makes love to only
one woman is not a real man (Krotz 45). By having this mentality, many Kenyan men believe
that it is normal to have more than one sex partner. Having multiple sex partners, whether it is a
women or a man, is a risky behavior that can higher the chance of catching a sexual transmitted
disease or HIV.
Many men and women in this country may not know they are infected with either an
sexual transmitted disease or are HIV-positive that are spreading it to others unnoticed. A way to
prevent this is to provide HIV and STD testing in high risked areas in Kenya that have a lot of
sex workers or rural areas that have a higher epidemic of AIDS cases. In other circumstances,
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some may not even care that they are affected or at high risk of catching the AIDS virus.
Krotz interviewed a young man in Kenya asking him questions not only about his health,
but to develop a better understanding on how Kenyans feel about the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in
this country. The young man quoted, I might die from AIDS, it is true. But in the time it takes
for that to happen I might also die in a shooting, a traffic accident, a war, or some other disease
(Krotz 46). It is clear that by this statement, that Kenyans have little determination to try to cure
the spread of HIV/AIDS. Of course, not everyone may have this mind set, but many are taking
their chances on life.
Education is a main factor for preventing the risk of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, but due to the
social-economic status of women and reputation standing for men, education is not a way to
prevent sexual transmitted diseases and HIV in this country. The men and women in Kenya have
access to condoms, and there have been many educational public programs such as posters and
one-on-one demonstrations of condoms. But in order to maintain and survive a living, many
women need to become sex workers for money and many men believe in having multiple sex
partners of being a man.
Furthermore, if educating the Kenyas population is not enough, education and providing
skilled health workers to strengthen health care services could also be a way to prevent the
spread of HIV. An increase in educated health care workers to provide proper treatment to those
who are suffering from a sexual transmitted disease should be treated and effetely cured so the
disease does not spread to others. Also, local health care workers need to be trained properly on
diagnosing a sexual transmitted disease and HIV testing (Krotz 42). Kenya needs health care
services and health care workers to provide drugs for the sick, correct implementation, and
evaluate the community to focus on finding research to decrease the spread of HIV and other
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sexual transmitted diseases.
Kenya is home to one of the highest HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world. It is at an
astonishing high rate in this country and needs to decrease. Education can be a major factor in
providing information on the high risk of developing sexual transmitted disease and how serious
HIV is, but the mind set of Kenyans need to change in order to stop the spread of this virus.
Education programs need to enhance on the safety of having minimum sex partners and the
proper use of a condom. Also, health clinics need to provide free HIV testing so Kenyans are
more aware of their health conditions. By promoting the risk factors of sexual transmitted
diseases and HIV/AIDS awareness, may decrease this epidemic of AIDS in Kenya.














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Reference

Krotz, Larry. Piecing the Puzzle: The Genesis of AIDS Research in Africa. Winnipeg: U of
Manitoba, 2012. Print.