Nairobi County Health executive officer Bernard Muia has said a large percentage of HIV infections are contributed by the over the 29,000 commercial sex workers in the city.
This is after a report showed that over 170,000 people in Nairobi are living with HIV.
11,000 gay relations and 7,000 drug users injecting themselves are also said to contribute to the high numbers HIV infections in the County.
The report also indicated that of the over 170,000 HIV infections 8,653 are children below 15 years.
The four groups account for over 90 per cent of new infections, the report states.
“There has been a consistent decrease in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS rate from 14% to 8%, though the number of new infections still remains high at 3,200 a year,” said Muia who was speaking during the launch of the Nairobi County HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan.
The report indicated that rapid urbanization, high levels of poverty, stigma and discrimination are among other factors that lead to high levels of HIV infections.
“Nairobi County has unique characteristics and required unique innovation to fight HIV/AIDs,” said John Kamigwi, deputy director of policy and research at the National AIDs Control Council.