World Aids day banner. [Photo/Wikipedia]Despite major progress, HIV and AIDS remains one of Kenya’s most significant public health challenges. The possibility of an HIV free Kenya by 2030 could be stalled by the fact that not all HIV positive people access care and treatment services.Even as the prevalence of the virus continues to decline among the general adult population, hyper-epidemics persist in parts of the country and among certain groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.Teenage girls and young women are contributing an increasingly large share of new infections. Tomorrow, the world marks World AIDS day, which was commemorated for the first time in 1998, to unite people in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV and remember people who have died.From the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2012, more than half of Kenyans living with HIV did not know their HIV status; 16 percent had never tested and 37 percent believed they were negative based on self-reporting.More than 70 per cent of HIV positive pregnant women received antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent transmission to their new born.Aids is the leading cause of death and illness among adolescents and young people in Kenya: 9720 adolescents and young people died of AIDS in Kenya in 2014.The world has committed to end the spread of Aids by 2030 as part of sustainable development goals. 

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