Kenya
Fact Sheets
- Kenya (pdf)
- MHRP Africa Programs (pdf)
The MHRP, through its Kericho site, has demonstrated excellence in executing HIV cohort, vaccine and therapeutics research as well as established an sustainable prevention, care and treatment program
- Selected by the NIH AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) to participate as a Clinical Trials Unit with two Clinical Research sites in Kericho and Eldoret, Kenya
- WRP-K established Kenya's first and only College of American Pathologist (CAP) certified laboratory
- Conducted first HIV vaccine study in Kericho and the third in Kenya
Inventive Prevention Programs
Reaching Youth
The Kericho Youth Center has been instrumental in ensuring that young people in the district learn their HIV status—an important aspect to prevention and access to care and treatment.
The center offers a dynamic approach to behavior change and HIV prevention by combining recreational services with HIV counseling and testing.
Community Engagement
HIV prevention integrated into “traditional circumcision” ceremonies
WRP-K has developed a novel approach for HIV prevention and education that builds on Kenya’s tribal rites of passage tradition of male-circumcision.
By working with, and obtaining approval from, key village elders, WRP-K brought peer educators into villages, creating an opportunity to discuss HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health.
Walter Reed Project
For more than 10 years, Walter Reed Project–Kenya has helped accelerate HIV research, prevention, care and treatment efforts in Kenya.
Walter Reed Project–Kenya (WRP-K) is the local name for the U.S. Military HIV Research Program. WRP-K has an extensive expertise and infrastructure to support HIV research and vaccine development efforts, as well an expansive HIV prevention, care and treatment program.
WRP-K integrates HIV research and comprehensive care, which enables the team to achieve critical research goals while improving HIV treatment services for the region.
Activities in Kenya are centered at the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit–Kenya (USAMRU-K) on the campus of the Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi. The U.S. military has maintained a substantial program for infectious disease research in Kenya for nearly 40 years. Field site activities have been based in Kericho, in the Southern Rift Valley, since 1999. Recently, WRP-K has been working in close collaboration with Army colleagues who have a long record of malaria research in Kisumu and Kombewa around Lake Victoria of western Kenya.
| HIV Research Includes: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phase I/II Clinical Trial of Candidate HIV Vaccine Developed at Vaccine Research Center at NIH |
Optimal Combination Therapy After Nevirapine Exposure Sponsored by NIH, AIDS Clinical Trials Group |
HIV/Malaria Co-infection studies |
| ECHO A pilot acute infection studies at four network sites in East Africa and Thailand |
IRIS An immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome clinical trial in Kericho |
Cohort development and surveillance |
Upcoming Research Studies
- HIV Program "High Incidence" HIV Cohort Study
- Phase I trial using DNA/Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara (MVA) prime-boost vaccine strategy focusing on HIV subtype A
- Additional therapeutics research
- Both Eldoret and Kericho CRSs will be conducting additional ACTG studies and are being considered for a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) study
HIV Care and Treatment
Kericho’s Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program, initiated in 2001, has been the foundation for HIV care and treatment activities in the region. Director Fredrick Sawe, MBChB, MMED, has built the program to include 60 clinics. The team has counseled more than 60,000 women. This is the second largest PMTCT program in Kenya.
Progress Through PEPFAR
WRP-K began providing PEPFAR-supported services in Kericho in 2004. Working with local partners throughout the South Rift Valley and within the Kenyan Department of Defense, WRP-K has supported:
| 11,614 | 14,273 | 37,412 | 95,414 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients currently receiving ART | Patients who ever received ART | Clients who received basic care and support | Clients who received counseling and testing |
*As of March 09, inclusive of military and civilian programs
Activities have focused on developing the capacity of health facilities at two tea plantations, Kericho District Hospital, several surrounding private hospitals and a large mission hospital 50km southwest of Kericho. WRP-K recently added a voluntary counseling and testing program in the Kombewa district located near Kisumu.
| WRP-K Supports Communities by: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Expanding the number of HIV clinical sites | Improving laboratory services and infrastructure | Assisting with data collection and human capacity development | Fostering counseling, testing and prevention programs |
Related Stories
Socioeconomic impacts of antiretroviral therapy and gender
Community Events Promote HIV Vaccine Awareness in Kenya
Contraception Use During HIV Vaccine Trial
IRIS Study Opens in Kericho, Kenya
MHRP selected by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) as a Clinical Trials Unit
MHRP International Network:
Nigeria |
Kenya |
Tanzania |
Uganda |
Thailand |
United States