Only two in every 10 adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 years in Garissa County know that condom use prevents HIV transmission. That finding alone should stop us in our tracks.
A draft secondary data analysis conducted this month by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) Africa reveals that 74 out of every 100 girls in this age group in Garissa County do not know that the single most accessible tool available to protect them from HIV can actually protect them.
The picture nationally is not much better. The report, titled HIV Awareness and Condom Use among Adolescents, shows that just 15 per cent of adolescent girls in Kenya have comprehensive HIV knowledge. This is defined as understanding that consistent condom use and having one uninfected, faithful partner together reduce the risk of HIV infection, combined with the ability to reject common myths about how the virus is transmitted.
In a country that has invested billions of shillings in HIV education over three decades, that figure is not just disappointing. It is a verdict.
The five counties under the spotlight
The study was conducted in five counties: Garissa, Homa Bay, Samburu, Tana River, and West Pokot, all of which record high HIV infection rates alongside high rates of teenage pregnancy, early marriage, school dropout, and poverty.
The findings were released on Wednesday at a Nairobi hotel during the launch of the report.
“Adolescents are the highest contributors of HIV new infections and nearly a third of the infections are reported in this group. Unfortunately, this same group has the least knowledge about HIV transmission and acquisition,” said Dr Patrick Amoth, Director General of Medical Services.
He did not shy away from placing responsibility at the door of policymakers.
“Maybe we as policymakers are the ones who are failing because these people are very active in the social space. We need to reconfigure information to them so that we can be able to reach them in their places of comfort,” he added.
Where the knowledge gaps are deepest
Among the five counties, Homa Bay leads with 51 per cent of adolescent girls reporting comprehensive HIV knowledge, placing it above the national average of 47.9 per cent. It also records the highest awareness that condom use prevents HIV transmission, at 83 per cent, attributed to intensive interventions in the county.
The remaining four counties all fall below the national average on comprehensive HIV knowledge. West Pokot stands at 38 per cent, Tana River at 35 per cent, Samburu at 27 per cent, and Garissa at the bottom with just 15 per cent.
On the basic message that limiting sexual partners reduces HIV risk, 85 per cent of adolescent girls nationally are aware of it. But in Garissa, the figure drops to 57 per cent. In Tana River it stands at 69 per cent, and in West Pokot at 72 per cent.
“Girls in these counties are less likely to know even this single, foundational prevention message. They are not being reached by the very programmes designed to reach them,” the survey states.
Myths that are costing lives
On myths and misconceptions, the national picture is relatively strong. Nationally, 89 per cent of girls correctly understand that HIV cannot be transmitted through mosquito bites, and 90 per cent know it cannot be caught by sharing food with someone living with HIV. However, in Samburu and Garissa, the proportion who know HIV cannot be transmitted through sharing food drops to 79 and 82 per cent respectively.
On the question of whether a healthy-looking person can still carry the virus, 80 per cent of adolescent girls nationally know this to be true. In Samburu, however, only 53.4 per cent are aware of it. In West Pokot the figure is 59.1 per cent, and in Tana River, 68.7 per cent.
“Nearly half of adolescent girls in Samburu believe that if a person looks well, they are well. In a county where HIV testing rates are already the lowest among the five study counties at 57.8 per cent, it is a direct barrier to testing, to early diagnosis, and to the timely care that saves lives,” the survey warns.
Testing rates remain dangerously low
National HIV testing coverage stands at 56.4 per cent, below what is needed to meet Kenya’s commitments to the 95-95-95 targets. These are the global goals of ensuring 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those receive treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression.
Among the five study counties, West Pokot leads with 74.1 per cent testing coverage, followed by Garissa at 68.7 per cent, Tana River at 66.6 per cent, and Homa Bay at 65.5 per cent. Samburu records the lowest at 57.8 per cent.
Not ignorant
The survey is direct about where the blame lies.
“These girls are not ignorant. They are uninformed. The information was never made available in a form that was accessible, accurate, age-appropriate, and trusted. It means comprehensive sexuality education remains inconsistently delivered in schools. It means community taboos around discussing sex have gone unchallenged for generations. It means the girls who need this information the most, those in remote, marginalised counties, are the girls least likely to receive it,” it states.
The Her Health Project, Systems that Work for Her, a five-year initiative, is working to close this gap by making accurate, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information the norm rather than the exception.
Dr Muhammed Sheikh, Director General of the National Council for Population and Development, put it plainly at the report launch.
“Treat adolescent girls not as problems to be managed but as rights holders who deserve to understand their own bodies, their own risks, and their own options. Because until every girl, whether in Nairobi or in the most remote corner of Garissa, knows that a condom can save her life, we are not done. Not even close,” he said.
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