In a health clinic outside Nairobi, Kenya, Janet* waits to see a doctor. Janet is a 32-year-old widow and mother of four from Kibera, a neighborhood of Nairobi. Her 11-year-old daughter, Jane*, isn’t feeling well. Both mother and daughter are HIV-positive.
Janet and Jane are lucky to live walking distance to the Langata Health Center, where they receive high-quality health care for free. Jane has been on antiretroviral medication for more than two years. Janet hasn’t paid a shilling. Around the world, millions of people living with HIV struggle to pay for care, or receive none at all. But Janet and Jane are among the 600,000 Kenyans whose HIV care is free through programs from the Government of Kenya, US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Janet wishes everyone could receive the same care that she does at Langata. But even for her, the system just barely works. She explains:
The doctor is only one, and we are many.
Patients at Langata face long waits to see a doctor or pick up their medications. Patients like Janet spend hours away from work and may have to arrange for child care.