Investigating the Impact of Climate Change on HIV Management

Abstract

Climate change is a reality and its effects are felt differently in different regions and times. There is evidence of marked increase in mean global temperature in the 21st century and resultant increase in intensity, severity, distributions and occurrence of climate sensitive diseases in areas they never used to be. Consequently there is more change in ecosystems, productivity and lifestyles and as such impact on the human health as well as ecosystem on which human kind relies for sustenance. Infection with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), an immune compromising virus, on the other hand has great implications on the health of individual’s and that of the community. Globally more than 33 million people are living with HIV with more than two-thirds of the infected living in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, significant progress has been made in HIV interventions, with 2013 data indicating that the national HIV prevalence stands at 5.6%, 1.6 million people are living with HIV, about 98,000 new infections occur amongst adults, and 11,000 amongst children annually and the AIDS related deaths stand at about 58,465. Information on climate change and variability is inevitable in managing the overall burden of climate sensitive diseases in Kenya and dealing with challenges in opportunistic infections associated with HIV which introduce a new dynamic. This desktop research sought to investigate the implications of climate change on HIV management in Kenya. The research established that the impact of climate change on HIV management in Kenya are real, people are predisposed to infections and vulnerable to disease progression due to climate change impacts posing a risk of increased mortality rate. This research informs policy makers and implementers at all levels and recommends an HIV and AIDS response in the Country, both National and County levels, that is cognizant and responsive to climate change implications.