Health PS Susan Mochache on Friday said since COVID-19 struck the country, there have been more than 5,000 death cases due to HIV/AIDS.
Speaking at Meru Teachers Training College, she said that people completely forgot about the prevalence of such cases.
“We have noted that GBV cases that lead to HIV/AIDS in girls are prevalent. Boys are also being sodomised and they too get HIV and that is why we must talk about these things,” said Mochache.
“Most of the time death cases are related to unreported incidents that are even happening in schools, of sodomisation and rape by the victims.”
She spoke during the launch of a campaign against gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS and early teenage pregnancies among the youth.
According to data that was presented a week ago in Nairobi by PS Mochache, at least 98 children aged between 10-19 are infected with HIV/AIDS on a weekly basis in Kenya.
The data also showed that one in every five adolescent girls in the country was pregnant or already had their first child.
Mochache also noted that men are at a higher risk of experiencing gender-based violence only that their cases go unreported due to fear of speaking up.
Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi who was in attendance noted that the county was among the leading regions in cases of early teenage pregnancies.
He urged the local Chiefs not to allow the traditional justice systems to be applied to serious cases like rape.
“We want the perpetrators to be apprehended, taken to court and convicted,” said Kiraitu.
He also called on the judiciary to award stiff penalties when prosecuting these offenders rather than according them court bonds that adversely result in their release.
Governor Kiraitu commended the continued and concerted efforts of the public, chiefs and even the police to fight this menace.
Meru County chief public health officer John Inanga said that the region is now ranked second in the country in cases of gender-based violence and teenage pregnancies.
He noted that policies that were earlier formulated to ensure the safety of young people are now being undermined.
“If we work together, led by our community health volunteers who are in the remote areas, we can address and find possible ways to reduce the emergence of these issues,” said Inanga.