Youth shun HIV testing

By James Kimanzi

The rate of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country is estimated to be 6.3% according to Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008-09 done by USAID IN Action. This survey shows that youth are the majority group in the society affected by the pandemic painting a bleak picture of the country’s future. What is even more saddening is that majority of the youth don’t know their HIV/AIDs status yet they are sexually active.

Mutomo Health Centre billboard (Photo: James Kimanzi/MCV)

A spot check conducted in Mutomo town’s youth population by this citizen journalist revealed that a big number would not dare visit a Voluntary Testing Centre (VCT) for an HIV/AIDs test and even if they did, they will not have the courage to wait for the disclosure of the results. Majority of them say that nervousness, fear of the unknown, and their active sexual behavior attribute to this behavior.Many refer the waiting as the scariestmoment they can ever imagine of.

A 24 year old man who is a sales person of a prominent company in town, confidently narrated about his relationship with a 13 year old form one girl. What is more, the young man blatantly admits that a condom has never featured anywhere in his sex life.This also paints a bleak picture of where Kenya’s youth are headed.

Sadly, this is not just an issue with the youth as even the town’s adult population has also fallen victim. A middle aged resident who spoke on conditions of anonymity disclosed of how he visited a VCT Centre for testing but his courage failed him midway and he could not wait for the results to be disclosed. “Singevumilia kungoja results za VCT (I could not wait for the results),” he confessed.

Another youth shamelessly admitted that if by any chance he was found to be infected, he would ensure that he spreads it around before his last breath, a clear indication that Mutomo residents ought to be cautious whom they form sexual relations with.Because as somebody pointed it out, “I am the only safe person that I know it’s prudent to abstain and keep off premarital sex”.

HTC stands for HIV/AIDS Testing and Counseling. These services are in the while a fundamental exercise that everyone should adopt to be able to know his/her status. It assists in mapping management activities and schedules to the infected and affected persons in the community. The managerial activities may include psychological support, spiritual, physical, as well as diet wise. For those affected, a lot of counseling is advised to manipulate positive attitude towards their infected persons since AIDS is real.