On the shores of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay in Kenya live the most malaria-infected people in Kenya. The small fishing village is also home to most HIV-infected Kenyans: one in five is a carrier of the virus, and almost one in two children is born with the virus.
Malaria-infected people have a ray of hope: two weeks ago, the WHO approved the first malaria vaccine. The city is fighting not two, but three emergencies at once – HIV, malaria and the COVID pandemic.
The situation is alarming: 24 children’s wards are overcrowded with infected children, and in just one day the hospital received six new children with malaria, says a special envoy of Sky News.
“Bella was admitted to a local hospital three days ago. Her small body doubled – she had a high fever and severe malnutrition. A blood test confirmed that Bella had HIV and malaria, she was born to parents with HIV. The child was abandoned by her mother when she was 2 years “, – the correspondent tells.
The head of the local health authorities in Homa Bay, Dr. Okom, explains that the child has never seen a doctor in his life, and, unfortunately, cases like Bella’s are very common.
“HIV is a huge scourge for local industry. It is poor people who feed on fishing, but malaria contributes to high mortality. It is madness that the health care system is unable to cope with these three crises – the incidence is huge and the culture human health is absent.
Dr. Okomo hopes for a malaria vaccine. If it is expected to be successful, Kenya will be able to breathe a sigh of relief and get rid of at least one of the three main problems.