THE KENYA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HIV/AIDS PROGRAM - (KDOD)

The Kenya Department of Defense (KDOD) HIV program offers comprehensive health services needed to reduce HIV related morbidity and mortality within the Kenyan Military population. These services include: Voluntary and confidential counseling and testing for HIV infection, prevention of HIV transmission, including sexual, and mother to child transmission, prophylaxis against opportunistic infections, diagnosis and treatment of HIV related conditions including opportunistic infections and neoplasms, antiretroviral treatment  and palliative care. The collaborative HIV/AIDS care and treatment program began in the KDOD way back in year 2001 with support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Defense. The latter has since taken over the program. All the funding and technical support is channeled through The Walter Reed Project (WRP). In January 2004, KDOD opened the first Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC) within the premises of its largest military hospital in Nairobi, the Armed Forces Memorial Hospital (AFMH). The clinic started with a humble number of only 34 registered patients. The growth of the clinic over the last 2 years has been rapid. As at the end of September 2006, 1380 clients are registered with 900 already on ART and 480 on palliative care. The services of general medical conditions, TB and STI are integrated within the CCC in order to reduce the stigma associated with isolated HIV clinics.
Civilians and military personnel form interdependent communities. In recognition of this interdependence, the program has over the last two years built the capacity of KDOD to extend prevention; care and support services to the neighboring needy underserved civilian communities. This population is estimated to be between 0.5 and 1million people. If plans go as expected, the program will be able to serve a bigger number of Kenyans through this extended service. The program promotes Abstinence/Being faithful and Other Prevention activities geared towards changed social and community norms in order to promote preventive behaviors. Condom promotion is also undertaken in view of the diverse military population with different social cultural backgrounds and age. The KDOD program offers VCT services through 20 sites that cover the 40 military bases. Over 26,000 people have been counseled and tested for HIV. 4,754 mothers have received PMTCT services through 14 PMTCT sites. In FY06, the KDOD program began focusing on providing OVC services to an initial 800 orphans of the military personnel. OVC tracking and training for the care takers has already begun. Program related data is coordinated from the data center located at the Defense headquarters. Development of data systems necessary for efficient and effective data collection, analysis and dissemination of quality data has already began. Plans to computerize key medical departments at the AFMH and to create a linkage between the data center and the main military hospital are at advanced stage. The military recognizes that there is a need to focus on the research of   HIV and other diseases that are of military importance like Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Tuberculosis and attention is given to these diseases as well.