Kenya's Fight Against AIDS and the Gay Taboo

Due to mounting evidence that sexual relations between two men is a major factor in the rise of HIV infections, the Kenyan government will begin addressing homosexuality.

A survey is planned to uncover gay attitudes and behaviors in three major cities. Kenya had a long history of refusing to recognize homosexuality. This is a landmark venture in the fight against AIDS. Sex between men is illegal in Kenya, with a sentence of up to 14 years in prison if caught and charged. The country is currently experiencing a massive HIV/AIDS epidemic, as 7 percent of the population is reported to be infected and 15 percent of those are unaware that they are infected. Research from 2007 suggests that transmission through homosexual sex is a bigger factor than previously believed, even though the vast majority of cases arise through intravenous drug use and heterosexual relations. "It will be a tricky issue that is likely to polarize everybody," Dr. Nicholas Muraguri, director of the National AIDS/STI Control Program, told Time magazine in a recent interview. "But what we are saying is that we cannot as a country socially exclude these groups and hope that we will win the war against HIV at the same time."