Kenya has recorded a 37% drop in new HIV infections over the past three years, with cases falling from 22,154 in 2022 to 13,936 in 2025, according to National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) chief executive officer Douglas Bosire.
In a statement on Sunday, Bosire said the decline demonstrated the progress Kenya had made in its HIV response, but warned against treating the gains as a reason to ease efforts to prevent new infections.
“We have demonstrated that actually we can do it,” he said, noting that the country had also made significant progress in reducing HIV-related deaths and expanding access to treatment.
About 1.35 million Kenyans living with HIV are currently on treatment, with 87% of those receiving treatment achieving viral suppression, according to the NSDCC.
Bosire said viral suppression was critical because it helped people living with HIV remain healthy while reducing the risk of transmitting the virus to their partners.
“Viral suppression is important because it not only enables you to stay healthy, but also it impedes or stops transmission between you and a loved one,” he said.
He attributed the progress to sustained government-led efforts in testing, treatment and prevention, while acknowledging that significant challenges remained.
The NSDCC chief said Kenya needed to maintain its focus on children, adults and young people, as well as key populations, if it was to meet its target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
“These statistics that we released the other day for 2025 a statistics of hope,” Bosire said.
“They give us determination. They encourage us that if we stay this path and we address that challenge... then together we can get to an AIDS free Kenya by the year 2030.”
A UNAIDS special report released in July 2026 found that Kenya was among only seven countries globally to achieve an almost 80% reduction in new HIV infections since 2010.
The number of new infections fell from about 70,000 in 2010 to 13,936 in 2025. Kenya also achieved the global 95-95-95 HIV treatment targets, according to UNAIDS.
However, the report noted that infections remain concentrated in some counties, particularly around the Lake Victoria region. Nairobi recorded the highest estimated number of new infections in 2025, followed by Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori.
UNAIDS has also warned that declining global HIV financing could threaten the gains, making continued investment in prevention, testing and treatment critical as Kenya works towards its 2030 target.