This archive report was first published on 30 June 2021.
On June 30, 2021, communities of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Kenya took to the streets of Nairobi to protest the lack of HIV medical supplies, including anti-retroviral drugs (ARVS).
According to John Mathenge, Director of Health Options for Young Men on HIV/AIDS/STI (HOYMAS), the government has failed to release the necessary medication, leaving 1.2 million people in counties without access to lifesaving medicine.
Mathenge revealed that Kaletra, the ARVS for children, lab reagents for testing HIV in babies, and ARV medicine for 1.2 million people in counties are running low.
"We want to know why USAID has not released our drugs yet we are suffering," Mathenge said during the demonstration at Uhuru Park grounds.
The Director also called upon the Ministry of Health and USAID Kenya to include a representative of people living with HIV on the ongoing talks on HIV drugs.
Mathenge urged KEMSA to make public the reforms being undertaken to restore donor confidence and seal loopholes that allowed leakage and wastage at the institution.
He appealed to all Kenyans to stand with 1.2 million Kenyans living with the HIV/AIDS infection, who need the lifesaving medicine.
By Njeri Kariuki and Muthoka Nicholas
