Scale-up of Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing in Kenya
- Elizabeth Marum, PhD;
- Miriam Taegtmeyer, BMBCh, DTM&H;
- Kenneth Chebet, MBChB, MPH
- Author Affiliations: US Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, Nairobi, Kenya (Dr Marum); Liverpool Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Care, Nairobi, Kenya, and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, England (Dr Taegtmeyer); and National AIDS and STD Control Programme, Nairobi, Kenya (Dr Chebet). Dr Chebet is now with the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education on Gynecology and Obstetrics, Nairobi, Kenya.
- Corresponding Author: Elizabeth Marum, PhD, US Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, PO Box 606, 00621 Village Market, Nairobi, Kenya (emarum{at}ke.cdc.gov).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Overburdened health care systems in resource-poor countries are unable to cope with the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the increased responses to treatment that have been proposed internationally. There is an urgent need for robust, replicable approaches that meet the need for rapid expansion of HIV testing services. Provision and utilization of voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) services in Kenya expanded rapidly between 2000 and 2005. Lessons learned from increasing access to VCT are applicable to global efforts to increase access to HIV prevention, care, and antiretroviral therapy (ART).
HIV Disease in Kenya
In 2000, Kenya had a population of approximately 30 million, with an estimated HIV prevalence of 9% in adults and an estimated 110 000 deaths from HIV/AIDS annually.1-2 Earlier HIV prevention campaigns had focused on AIDS awareness, behavioral change, and condom use.1 Knowledge of HIV status was rarely mentioned1 and only an estimated 14% …
