| dc.description.abstract | Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) also known as Kala-azar is a neglected tropical disease (NTD)
that poses an increasing public health threat in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASALs).
This ecological zone extends across borders into neighboring countries including Sudan, South
Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Uganda. Despite substantial advances in the
understanding and management of Visceral Leishmaniasis including improved diagnostics,
treatment options, and insights into sandfly vectors, the prevalence of the disease in Kenya
continues to rise with new endemic foci increasingly being identified. The persistence and reemergence of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) are driven by multiple interrelated factors including
climate change, weak health systems, population mobility due to insecurity and recurrent
conflicts, inadequate vector control measures, and widespread poverty among vulnerable and
marginalized communities. Moreover, existing health and environmental policies insufficiently
incorporate Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) control into the broader development agendas of the
affected regions. Notably, there is a lack of explicit multidisciplinary and multisectoral
strategies as well as suboptimal community engagement and participation in public health
initiatives specifically targeting VL. The constitutional devolution of health services to county
governments along with the recent implementation of Kenya’s Social Health Policy Initiative
presents a realistic opportunity for high-risk ASAL counties to prioritize promotive and
preventive health services to vulnerable groups. This can be effectively advanced through
grassroots community health promotion programs, multisectoral collaboration, and broader
health system strengthening interventions. This brief communication examines policy
opportunities within Kenya’s response to Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), offers practical
recommendations, and advocates for accelerated adoption and sustained ownership of
integrated, multisectoral disease control strategies by national and county governments to
eliminate VL as a public health threat | en_US |
