The United Nation goodwill ambassador for Malaria Yvonne Chaka chaka on Monday helped to unveil an integrated Prevention Demonstration Campaign in Western Kenya.

The campaign “Integrated Prevention Demonstration” offers a new approach to combat malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and HIV/AIDS.

Over 40,000 people will benefit from the campaign which provides basic care package consisting of a PermaNet® long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net, a LifeStraw® water purification tool, condoms and educational materials as encouragement for residents taking part in a voluntary HIV counseling and testing campaign.

"We have conducted a number of other interventions through out Africa. But, this initiative will for the first time, provide a basic care package of multiple health interventions as encouragement for voluntary HIV counselling and testing. Those tested will be supplied with PermaNet® bed nets, LifeStraw® water purifiers, and condoms as encouragement for those found to be either HIV positive or and negative, we expect a large turn out of residents will be turnout to know their HIV status while protecting them from HIV, malaria and diarrhoea," said Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen and the developer of the concept of the IPD.

The campaign also offers a unique element and scalable model for HIV testing and counseling that will be created. For the first time, the campaign will demonstrate the ability to achieve a national target of 80% of adults knowing their HIV status within one week.

For the first time, CD4 cell count determination would be implemented at the community level outside traditional health structures in Sub Saharan Africa. This is important because universal access to anti-retroviral therapy (ARTs) cannot be achieved without a scalable model for early determination of CD4 count at the community level making it easy for the government through the ministry of health to address the relevant interventions.

The campaign is jointly being carried out by the humanitarian aid and development assistance organization CHF International works jointly with Vestergaard Frandsen and the government of Kenya.

CHF will compile data collected from the campaign for further impact assessments at both the community and national level. Says Dr. Eric Lugada, CHF Country Director.

CHF International is reputed for working with a network of service agencies and community organizations to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in Kenya by providing sustainable high-quality, expanded HIV/AIDS services.

The success of the campaign in Kenya will contribute greatly to ensuring that 80% of the adult population knows their HIV status by 2010. At the moment only 36% of the Kenyan adult population has been tested at least once, while only 20% know there HIV status. Continued HIV testing is one of the key pillars of HIV prevention and access to treatment, care and support," said Dr. Nicholas Muraguri, the head of Kenya's National AIDS and STI control program (NASCOP).

With a staggering population of 113,000 persons in Lurambi, the primary target groups for the intervention are women and men aged 15-49 years who form the high risk bracket.

Current statistics from the KNACC are indicative that the prevalence of HIV has gone up despite the government launching the VCTs across the country.