First Lady Rachel Ruto speaks at Mawego National Polytechnic in Homa Bay County. [James Omoro, Standard]
The fight against triple threat has gained impetus in Homa Bay after a programme for rescuing adolescents from new HIV infections was launched in the county.
Triple threat is a public health issue which refers to HIV and AIDS, teenage pregnancies, and gender-based violence (GBV).
Homa Bay is one of the top counties whose adolescents are worst affected by triple threat, especially new HIV infections.
The latest data from the Ministry of Health indicate that Homa Bay County has an HIV prevalence of 11.74 per cent. Adolescents aged 10-19 years account for 20.6 per cent of new HIV infections in the county.
The majority of the affected are girls. Similarly, girls are highly affected by teenage pregnancies, which result from GBV.
An initiative has been launched to salvage the teenagers to end new HIV infections in the county by 2030.