Briefing Paper

Reducing HIV Infection Rates among Young Kenyan Women

“In Kenya, HIV rates are much higher for women than for men. This gender
differential is particularly pronounced for young women aged 15 to 24 years, who are four times more likely to contract HIV than young men in the same age group. Kenya’s policies over the past decade recognize specific factors that affect girls and young women’s vulnerability to HIV infection, such as lower socioeconomic status, lack of education and sexual violence. More
sustained efforts are needed to protect girls and young women from harmful practices that increase their vulnerability to HIV.
Policy revisions should focus on creating an enabling environment for young women to make healthy sexual decisions and be directed towards multi-sectoral programming with increased budgetary allocation and
achievable implementation plans.”