USAID Mission [www.usaid.gov/ke] Kenyan Ministry of Health [www.health.go.ke] Regional Centre for Quality Health Care [www.rcqhc.org] Kenya Medical Research Institute [www.kemri.org]

Kenya

See Also: Food Security; HIV/AIDS; Infant and Child Nutrition; Women's and Adolescents' Nutrition

USAID/Kenya has provided PEPFAR funds to FANTA to strengthen the integration of nutrition into HIV strategies and programs. FANTA is working with the Government of Kenya's National AIDS and STI Control Program (NASCOP) and other partners to integrate food and nutrition components into HIV care and treatment through a multi-pronged approach: national guidelines and facilitation of a national level technical working group, capacity strengthening of hospitals and health care workers, practical tools for service providers and targeted evaluations to increase knowledge about the impacts of food supplementation on people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Targeted Evaluation of Food Supplements: FANTA has been working with the Kenya Medical Research Institute to carry out a randomized controlled evaluation to investigate the impacts of food supplementation on the nutritional and clinical status of malnourished, adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) clients and malnourished adult pre-ART clients. The study takes place at six HIV treatment and care facilities in Kenya and compares the nutritional and clinical outcomes of clients receiving nutrition counseling alone with clients receiving nutrition counseling and a fortified, nutritious blended food.

National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV: FANTA worked with NASCOP and UNICEF to develop and disseminate the Kenya National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, which establish a consistent set of nutrition recommendations for PLHIV, and describe actions that service providers need to take to provide nutritional care. FANTA also provides ongoing technical input to NASCOP in the design and implementation of its food and nutrition interventions.

Training Course and Curriculum on Nutrition and HIV: To strengthen the capacity of HIV service providers to provide effective nutritional care and support, USAID/Kenya supported FANTA in working with NASCOP to develop a trainer manual and trainee tools for a Kenya national training course on nutrition and HIV. Nutrition Management in Comprehensive Care Centres in Kenya: A Trainer's Manual and Nutrition and HIV/AIDS: A Toolkit for Service Providers in the Comprehensive Care Centres are intended for service providers from Comprehensive Care Centers (CCC), the health care facilities where HIV patients are treated. FANTA also conducted trainings of CCC service providers using the training course.

Nutrition and HIV Counseling Materials: To strengthen implementation of nutritional care and support of PLHIV throughout Kenya, FANTA worked with NASCOP and other partners to develop counseling materials that focus on the nutritional needs of PLHIV. Specific topics include improving dietary intake, nutritional management of symptoms and the nutritional implications of antiretrovirals and other drugs. FANTA worked with NASCOP to disseminate the materials and orient service providers in their use.

Formative Assessment of Food and Nutrition Implications of ART and Food-By-Prescription (FBP) Programs: FANTA conducted an assessment of the food and nutrition needs of ART clients, gaps in program capacity and client and provider perceptions about the role of food and nutrition in ART. The assessment was conducted in 13 public, private and Mission health care facilities in Kenya and included NGOs and PLHIV networks. Assessment findings and recommendations are documented in the report, Food and Nutrition Implications of Antiretroviral Therapy in Kenya: A Formative Assessment.

USAID Country Profile
[http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/
kenya/]

PEPFAR Country Profile
[http://www.pepfar.gov/press/75918.htm]

UNICEF Country Profile
[http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kenya_2621.html]

WFP Country Profile
[http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp? region=2§ion=9&sub_section=2&country=404]

Demographic and Health Surveys Country Survey
[http://www.measuredhs.com/countries/country_main.cfm?
ctry_id=20]

FAO Country Food Security Statistics
[http://www.fao.org/faostat/foodsecurity/Countries/EN/
Kenya_e.pdf]

World Bank Country Data Profile
[http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp? CCODE=KEN&PTYPE=CP]

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