HIV/AIDS in the Slums Of Nairobi: The Capacity of the Private Health Sector to Respond to the High Disease Burden

George Mgomella, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Akaco Ekirapa, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Catherine Kyobutungi, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

Amidst rapid urbanization which has led to a majority of urban residents to live in slums, Kenya with a prevalence of 6.7 % is also grappling with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Hefty rural-urban and intra-urban differences have been exhibited. The undeserved slums with high HIV burden have proliferation of private health providers. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 503 health facilities in three slums in Nairobi. Among 498 were private clinics. Among the private facilities, 87.5 % were private-for-profit (PFP) and others were private-not-for-profit (PNFP). The PNFP were more likely to offer HIV/AIDS related services than PFP providers. Less than 5% of facilities offered Anti-retroviral therapy and TB treatment with DOTs. Only 8% of all facilities had full capacity to offer HIV/AIDS services. Health policies that allow all players in the health field to offer high quality services tailored to the needs of slum dwellers are needed to reduce the burden.