Remarks by Mr. Bouri Jean Victor Sanhouidi, Officer-In-Charge, Unfpa KCO, on behalf of the Joint UN Team on HIV/AIDS on the commemoration of the International Condom Day in Nairobi

It gives me great pleasure to be part of this gathering to commemorate this day on behalf of the Joint UN team on HIV/AIDS. I would like to congratulate the organizers of this important event, the NACC, NASCOP, The County Government of Nairobi and the other partners for putting together the activities to mark this day.  The theme of the Day "Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones, Use a Condom" is very telling.  It reminds us our responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones and the importance of the use of condom. 

Although the national prevalence of HIV has reduced to 5.6%, transmission still remains high. It is estimated that every day approximately 270 people (98,000 per year) become infected with HIV, and the vast majority 93.7% are infected through sexual intercourse.  Besides, young women who engage in sex work due to various reasons are at higher risk of HIV infection and with their clients contributing 14% of all new infections. The incidence of other sexually transmitted diseases remains high for example the prevalence of Herpes Simplex type 2 is 35.1% or about 6.7 million in the 15-64 age bracket.

The Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey 2012 revealed that only 11% of women and 43% of men in the age group 15-24 reported consistent use of condoms. Correct and consistent condom use is known to reduce HIV transmission by over 96%; hence this practice must remain one of the key priorities for our population.

Both male and female condoms are effective in dual-risk reduction strategy, and therefore they must be aggressively promoted and provided to all sexually active individuals in the country. This is important to be noted by some of our key populations with great unmet need of family planning and high risk of HIV transmission.

The government through National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NASCOP) currently distributes about 120 million male condoms and 1.5 million female condoms every year. Therefore the purchase or distribution of poor quality condoms can adversely affect every aspect of condom promotion and programming. Not only is it a waste of limited budgetary resources, but also it damages the credibility of the one inexpensive device that has been proven to prevent the transmission of HIV. It is therefore important for policy-makers, programme managers, providers, and procurement officers to know how to apply the essential elements of condom quality assurance to guarantee that a quality product is purchased, promoted and distributed to the consumer.

Availability of condoms is key to achieving the national targets of reducing new HIV infections - like the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV whose target is 5% by 2015.

To achieve condom utilization target of 80% by 2017 among the sexually active persons in Kenya, more needs to be done to ensure condom security. Addressing the increasing demand for condoms from about 400million per year to over 500 million by 2017 requires innovative financing mechanisms for condoms like creation of Trust funds and tax breaks for employers providing free condoms to their personnel.  With the devolved institution now in place, there is a need for coordinated efforts among the different entities involved in the condom supply chain to ensure that the commodity is available and accessible where needed. In the medium term the Government may consider the establishment of a local condom manufacturing firm through a Public-Private arrangement.

UNFPA as the UN agency with mandate on condom programming has supported the Government in ensuring condom availability. Over the last 3 years UNFPA has supported procurement of condoms worth over USD 10million under the World Bank Total War Against HIV (TOWA) project. And we are still committed to continue with such support to the government as we work towards zero new HIV infections.

UNFPA also supports implementation of Programmes targeting other key populations like sex workers where proper utilization of condoms can lead to great impact in our society.

Ladies and Gentlemen, In conclusion the fight against HIV /AIDS has been indeed a priority for the United Nations as a whole. It is on this strength that the Joint UN team under leadership of the UNAIDS has supported various initiatives in the country like the recent launch of The First Lady's Beyond Zero Campaign, holding County HIV forums; Strengthening Integration of HIV in Maternal and Child health Programmes; engaging in high level advocacy and accountability forums.

As Joint UN Team, we remain committed to provide both Technical and Financial resources to the Government in its delivery of services to the people of Kenya while addressing the key priorities as outlined in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) which represents the contribution of the UN in Kenya to the implementation of the MTP II of the Vision 2030.

TOGETHER WE CAN GET TO ZERO NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN KENYA - LET'S UNITE AND BUILD A WORLD FREE OF AIDS.