22. In Honor of a Friend, One Health Worker Fills the Gap in Kenya’s HIV/AIDS Care Workforce

Doreen Agina, an HIV patient support specialist in Kandiege, Kenya, figured out her career path early in life.

Agina grew up watching her father, a clinical officer in Kisumu, help restore bright smiles to the faces of sick children. However, her passion to work with people living with HIV was sparked at age 12 when a close friend was diagnosed with the virus. She encouraged her friend to go for treatment and even accompanied her to hospital.

“I used to hear people say, if a person with HIV took treatment they could live longer,” Agina recalls. For Agina, seeing her friend recover and live a normal life cemented her belief that HIV is not a death sentence.

Ten years later, Doreen enrolled at the Kenya Medical Training College in Kisumu. Every time the students went to hospital for practical sessions, Agina visited the HIV clinics to see how they dispensed antiretroviral drugs. Following graduation, the EGPAF recruited Agina to support the effort of Kenya’s Ministry of Health to combat HIV in Homabay County, where more than 25% of the population is living with HIV.

The World Health Taking Stock Report identifies serious shortage of health workers — the people on the front line of the efforts to prevent and treat HIV infection — as a key barrier to universal access to HIV services. EGPAF supports 74 health care workers in Homabay’s four sub-counties. Half of people with HIV on care in Homabay access HIV services through EGPAF-supported sites.

Today, Doreen works with HIV-positive patients in Kandiege sub-district hospital’s clinic for HIV-positive patients. Her childhood friend is alive, healthy, and a continuing inspiration for Doreen.

A version of this article was originally published in Nairobi News.

Because an AIDS-free generation is not just a dream, from November 24 through December 26 we are highlighting 25 ways that EGPAF, our partners, and every-day people are helping and/or can help make it a reality. Pediatric HIV/AIDS is solvable, but we can't do it alone. Each and every one of us has an important role to play.