This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
Dr. Sobbie Mulindi, a renowned Aids researcher and consultant psychiatrist, passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Dr. Mulindi had been sick since 2017, but details on the type of cancer he suffered and where he had been receiving treatment were not immediately available.
As a former Deputy Director of the National Aids Control Council (2008-2014) and a senior lecturer in the psychiatry department of the University of Nairobi, Dr. Mulindi played a pivotal role in reducing the HIV prevalence rate from a high of about 30 per cent in the early 2000s.
He was a pioneer in sensitizing Kenyan youth about HIV-Aids, a topic that was once taboo. Dr. Mulindi constantly warned youth against unprotected sex, highlighting the correlation between sex and HIV-Aids.
Dr. Mulindi was also heavily involved in the preparation of the Sessional Paper No. 4 on HIV and Aids in Kenya in 1997 and wrote the “HIV/AIDs Situation Analysis” for the Ministry of Health, which facilitated the development of its first Strategic Plan on HIV and Aids.
His contributions extended beyond Kenya, as he lent his expertise to the development of four National Strategic Plans for HIV/Aids prevention in Kenya and also developed plans for South Africa, Swaziland, Rwanda, Benin, Somalia, Congo, and Brazzaville.
Leaders and citizens alike have mourned the loss of Dr. Mulindi, with Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi saying, "I have lost a brother, friend, and confidant."
His passing comes as Kenya struggles to deal with the cancer epidemic, with governors calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare it a national disaster.
