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Article

13 Sep 2016

Author:
Malemba Mkongo, The Star (Kenya)

Kenya. Govt. agency attributes high HIV/AIDS to ongoing road & railway construction

"SGR to blame for increased HIV prevalence in Taita Taveta, NACC says"

The national aids control council has sounded the alarm over the rise in HIV prevalence at Taita Taveta. Julius Koome, director NACC Coast region, attributed the worrying figures to the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway. He said that the prevalence has gone higher compared to the region's population, also attributed to the construction of Taveta-Voi road which has caused the migration of persons into the county. HIV/Aids prevalence in Taita Taveta county now stands at 6.1 per cent out of a population of 400,000...

He said the high numbers of sex workers streaming into the area following the multi-billion shilling project has contributed at least 65 per cent new infections reported lately. The health worker noted that the county is a transit center for long-distance drivers from the port of Mombasa. "Sex workers mostly get infected by long-distance drivers and later render their services to locals thus raising the transmission rates," said Koome.