About 600,000 more Kenyans living with HIV will be put on antiretroviral treatment by 2017 because of additional Sh21.9 billion funding from donors.
This will bring the number of people on treatment to about 1.4 million. Kenya has 1.6 million people living with HIV.
The funding follows the signing of seven agreements worth Sh33 billion with the Global Fund that will also expand interventions for tuberculosis and malaria.
Tuberculosis was allocated Sh6.6 billion while malaria got Sh6.2 billion.
In addition, President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged Sh2.6 billion in this financial year to the Global Fund towards fighting these diseases.
The partnership was signed on Tuesday at the National Treasury, with Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich representing the Kenya Government.
The grants will also support programmes that help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, expanding coverage from 66 per cent to 90 per cent.
In addition to HIV management, the funds will also be used to distribute seven million insecticide-treated mosquito nets and to boost multi-drug-resistant treatment for tuberculosis by 2017.
According to the World Health Organisation, drug resistance in the treatment of tuberculosis patients arises from improper use of antibiotics.
Global Fund Head of Grant Management Mark Edington said the partnership will contribute to the good health and economic development of Kenyans.
Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said his ministry is committed to working with civil society and development partners to improve health services for Kenyans.
He, however, said there have been numerous bottlenecks in the fight against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
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“HIV stigma is real. People, especially men who have sex with men, are afraid of being exposed if they seek treatment.
“Yet they record a HIV prevalence of 18.2 per cent when the national prevalence is 5.6 per cent,” he said.
On malaria, Mr Macharia said in some areas prone to the disease such as Migori, residents used the nets for fishing and for fencing, making the fight against malaria difficult.
‘However, we are addressing this because malaria cases are coming down to about 12 per cent from 30 per cent three years ago,” he said.
The grants will be managed by the National Treasury, African Medical and Research Foundation, Kenya Red Cross and Kenya Aids NGOs Consortium.
The CS said the government had in the fiscal year 2015/2016 set aside Ksh.2.6 billion to help bridge the financing gaps under the three diseases.
Already, Kenya has increased its budget allocation for health from Sh50 billion in 2009 to Sh115 billion in 2013.
The grants will be managed by four organizations: The National Treasury of the Government of Kenya, the African Medical and Research Foundation, the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium.
The financial resources provided through the Global Fund come from the government of United States of America, Japan, the European Union, United Kingdom for International Development, UNAIDS and World Health Organization among others.
