Population and Health

Program Activities

USAID/Kenya's health program focuses on reducing fertility and the risk of HIV/AIDS through efforts to reform the health care sector, to prevent HIV  transmission, to provide care and support for those already infected, and to deliver family planning and child survival services. Being a focus country within the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - PEPFAR - the country team is planning a major expansion of

HIV/AIDS programs, with special attention to care and treatment.
 
Implement comprehensive HIV/AIDS program. USAID is working to reduce all types of HIV transmission. It uses behavior change communications to reduce sexual transmission. USAID will work with local groups, including faith-based organizations, to establish interpersonal and peer counseling programs, communication campaigns, and community theater. In FY 2004, we will restructure and restart a popular radio soap opera. USAID will also work to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Kenya is poised for a rapid expansion of its PMCT program. USAID and CDC in Kenya received Presidential Initiative funds to help the MOH scale up PMCT in 2003-2004. By the end of 2004, the number of health facilities providing PMCT services will double. Improving the blood transfusion system also reduces HIV transmission.
 
USAID will continue and expand its care and treatment programs to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS. Community-based programs will improve the ability of local communities to carry out home-based care activities for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. One project, now working through 29 local partners to bring home-based care, ecumenical support, and orphan care to over 7,000 vulnerable households, will expand its activities. Following an assessment in FY 2004, USAID will support several projects to identify and establish sustainable strategies to enable communities to cope with the needs of HIV-positive children and those orphaned by AIDS.
 
Crosscutting areas supported by USAID will include voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and the social marketing of products and health messages. Many of the 58 VCT sites USAID has established will be "graduated" in FY 2004. USAID's social marketing will encourage abstinence, a reduction the number of sex partners, and a reduction stigma, as well as promote condom use among those who are already sexually active. Principal HIV/AIDS contractors, grantees, and agencies include Children of God Relief Institute, Engender Health, Family Health International, Futures Group, John Snow, Inc., Macro International, Marquette University, Pathfinder International, and PSI. Subcontractors include Kenya AIDS NGO Consortium, Kenya Girl Guides, MAP International, PATH, and the Society for Women and AIDS in Kenya.

Improve reproductive health services. USAID will continue to support public and private sector reproductive health activities. One project will continue to work in 96 health facilities in 10 districts, increasing the quality of care by training providers and upgrading facilities. The USAID program also increased demand for services and promoted healthier behavior through community-level interpersonal communications and national-level mass marketing. With Presidential Initiative funds, USAID will integrate activities to prevent mother-to-child transmission into this and other projects. USAID will continue to supply all of the IUDs used in the Kenyan family planning program. An analysis of the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey will identify why family planning acceptance has plateaued and develop programs to improve it. Principal contractors, grantees, and agencies include Engender Health, Family Health International, Futures Group, John Snow, Inc., Macro International, PSI, and the University of North Carolina. Subcontractors include Aga Khan Health Services, PATH, and the University of Nairobi.
 
Reduce the impact of infectious diseases. In collaboration with DFID, USAID's social marketing program for insecticide treated bednets will expand in FY 2004. USAID will also work with the national malaria control program to improve policy implementation. A new project to continue malaria activities in Bungoma district will begin late in FY 2004. USAID will continue to support the national TB program, especially in urban areas. It will further increase the number of diagnostic centers, and to integrate TB into VCT sites. Principal contractors, grantees, and agencies include CDC, EngenderHealth, Futures Group, John

Assist in national health sector reform. USAID is working with the Ministry of Health on national health sector reform and improving health sector financing and sustainability. USAID will assist the MOH increase its cost-sharing revenue in major public sector facilities by improving its capacity to monitor and supervise the program and establishing a financial information system. In FY 2004 USAID will help the MOH analyze its National Health Accounts survey to identify financial constraints and develop strategies to overcome them. Principal contractors, grantees, and agencies include Abt Associates, John Snow, Inc. and the Futures Group.
 
FY 2005 Program:
Implement comprehensive HIV/AIDS program. USAID will provide training to health workers and home-based caregivers who will be providing treatment, including ARVs. USAID's program will also include prevention activities targeted at young people, further scaling up activities preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, and improving the quality of VCT services, integrating TB services as appropriate. As PEPFAR funds become available, these activities will be intensified and scaled up in new geographic areas, in coordination with other USG agencies. Implementers are the same as above.

Improve reproductive health services. Additional reproductive health resources will allow USAID to improve the supply of reproductive health services in target areas and at the national level, and to further improve national systems for planning, budgeting, and distributing essential commodities. Implementers are the same as above.
 
Reduce the impact of infectious diseases. USAID will further expand the bednet program, support the national malaria program, implement the new malaria prevention and treatment project in Bungoma district, and implement the new urban TB strategy. Implementers are the same as above.
 
Assist in national health sector reform. USAID will improve the skills of district health management teams, help develop national health insurance program, and promote the health sector reform process. It will continue to strengthen health systems such as logistics and training, the Kenya Medical Stores Agency itself, and help the GOK plan for a national social health insurance program. USAID will support the creation of a health GIS database, in collaboration with the Ministries of Planning and Health. Implementers are the same as above.