US to continue supporting fight against HIV - Whitman

US government will continue supporting services meant to contain and manage HIV-AIDS infections in Kenya Ambassador  Meg Whitman has said.

Whitman said her country will continually undertake funding to ensure sustainable progress in the fight against the disease and reduce its prevalence.

Concerted efforts such as undertaking Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC), continuing supply of Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs and paying salaries to medics and other staffers who offer services to fight the disease are in place.

There have been reports that the US government may soon end funding HIV management.

But Whitman said the US government has no intentions of ending its funding to the country.

The US government has supported Kenya in the fight against HIV for over 20 years where more than one million lives were saved.

“Supporting such government-to-government programs has achieved remarkable success. We will continue to work with the Kenya government to ensure we succeed all together,” Whitman said.

Addressing the press when she paid a courtesy call to Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga in Homa Bay town on Thursday, the US government will be thoughtful and careful about any plans to end financing HIV management.

Statistics reveal that Homa Bay is among the counties in Kenya with the highest prevalence rate of HIV infections.

The prevalence stands at 18 per cent.

The high rate is attributed to the social-economic factors. Fishing is one of the major economic activities among the people in Homa Bay as the county has more than 60 per cent of the Lake Victoria water cover.

It has more than 134 active and operating beaches.

Whitman said her government will also support programmes through investment in sectors such as agriculture and fishing to promote the local economy.

She said investors can put money into cotton fish and edible oils production.

Whitman described Homa Bay as one of the counties endowed with resources that should be explored.

“The US has all the technical support that can be provided to help investment,” the ambassador said.

Wanga said her administration will work on policies for investors to find a favourable environment for investors.

The governor said the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and other organisations are working with her administration county on the transition from donor funding to self-support in the management of HIV.

She said the government has the responsibility of addressing health care, adding that talks on transition are in top gear and the government will take charge of the process.

“We are not expecting that there will be a drop in one day. The transition is to get the government involved and ensure quality service,” Wanga said.

She urged residents not to be alarmed by the issue saying the US government has been the main supporter of health care finance especially on HIV management.

She said they have discussed mechanisms on how the transition can be implemented.

Homa Bay government has put priority on developing different value additions in edible oil, mainly cotton and palm oil.

It plans to hold an investment conference in February next year when it will ink deals with different investors about opportunities within the county.

It includes Lake Victoria. Wanga said activities in the lake can be powered by having goods to transport.

She said her administration is focusing on value addition where different products are produced within the county and transported to other places using water vessels.

“In partnership with the national government, we are rehabilitating our piers to restore lake transport,” Wanga said.