IRIN reports on HIV-positive Kenyans' struggle to reach food aid

Aug 25 2011

IRIN reports on the difficulties some people living with HIV in Kenya face in accessing food. "Partly because of a prolonged dry spell, some 3.6 million Kenyans need emergency food assistance," and, while there is food aid available in Kenya, poor roads prevent the aid from reaching some villages, according to IRIN.

The news agency reports the story of Julia Aukot, who every morning "walks 17km [from her village] to eastern Kenya's Isiolo town in search of work so she can feed her six children and" her husband, whose antiretroviral medication and insufficient food intake has left him too weak to contribute to the family income. According to a local nutrition officer, "the situation calls for new ways to ensure the most vulnerable have access to food assistance," IRIN writes (8/23).