ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act
2. Interpretation
Edition: 2022-12-31 · In force
2. Interpretation
In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—"Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AlDS)" means a condition characterized by a combination of signs and symptoms, resulting from depletion of the immune system caused by infection with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV);"anonymous testing" means an HIV testing procedure whereby the person being tested does not reveal his true identity but instead, an identifying number or symbol is used which allows the testing centre and the tested person to match the test results with the identifying number or symbol;"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to HIV and AIDS and "Ministry" shall be construed accordingly;"child" has the meaning assigned to it in the Children Act (Cap. 141);"compel", in relation to HIV testing, refers to an HIV test imposed upon a person characterized by the lack of consent, use of physical force, intimidation or any other form of compulsion;"consent" means consent given without any force, fraud or threat and with full knowledge and understanding of the medical and social consequences of the matter to which the consent relates;"guardian", in relation to a child or a person with disability, means any person having custody of such child or person with disability by reason of the death, illness, absence or inability of the parent of such child or person, or for any other cause;"Health institution" means a hospital, nursing home, maternity home, health centre, dispensary, pharmacy or other institution, whether private or public, where healthcare services are rendered;"health maintenance organization" means a limited liability company established for the purpose of operating and managing healthcare funding and managed healthcare systems through membership administration schemes or pools, or healthcare benefits schemes, and which offers hospital and clinical services supported by a contracted healthcare service provider network of doctors, other healthcare professionals, and which, in addition, may offer ambulance or rescue services and undertake franchise arrangements in the management of health institutions;“healthcare provider” means—(a)a medical practitioner or dentist registered under the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act (Cap. 253);(b)a pharmacist or a pharmaceutical technologist registered or enrolled under the Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Cap. 244);(c)a nurse registered and licensed under the Nurses and Midwives Act (Cap. 257);(d)a clinical officer registered and licensed under the Clinical Officers (Training Registration and Licensing) Act (Cap. 260);(e)a laboratory technician or technologist registered and licensed under the Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologist Act (Cap. 253);(f)counsellors who have completed training as approved by the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to health:and includes any other person approved by the Cabinet Secretary under section 16;"healthcare service" rendered to a person means—(a)the physical or mental examination of that person;(b)the treatment or prevention of any physical or mental defect, illness or deficiency and the giving of advice in relation to that defect, illness or deficiency;(c)the performing of any surgical or other invasive procedure;(d)the giving of advice in relation to or treatment of any condition arising out of a pregnancy;(e)the prescribing, dispensing, supplying or applying of any medicine, appliance or apparatus in relation to any defect, illness, deficiency or pregnancy;(f)X-ray, laboratory and other investigative and diagnostic procedures;(g)physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and other types and variations of similar rehabilitative treatment;(h)nursing or midwifery in health institutions and other places where nursing and midwifery services may be rendered, including home-based nursing and midwifery services by duly qualified registered and experienced nurses and midwives;(i)the supply of accommodation in any institution established or registered in terms of any law as a health institution or any other institution or place where surgical or other medical procedures are performed, provided that such accommodation is necessitated by any physical or mental defect, illness, deficiency or a pregnancy;(j)the provision of pre-test or post-test counseling services;"HIV test" means a prescribed test or a series of tests which determines whether a person is infected with HIV;"human biomedical research" means—(a)any research that involves direct interference or interaction with the physical body of a human subject and that involves a concomitant risk of physical injury or harm however remote;(b)any research programme that involves the administration of any drug on a human subject whether it is for the purpose of testing the effects or efficacy of the drug, or whether as a means for estab1ishing any other objective of the research programme;(c)any research that involves the trial or use of a medical device on a human subject;(d)any research that involves carrying out a test on a human subject’s physiological, emotional or mental responses, such test not being conducted for diagnostic purposes with a view to the therapeutic management of the human subject;(e)any research involving human tissue, or medical, personal or genetic information relating to both identifiable and anonymous human subjects for the purpose of generating data about medical, genetic or biological processes, diseases or conditions in human subjects;"Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)" means the virus which causes AIDS;"medical insurance provider" has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Insurance Act (Cap. 487);"medical practitioner" includes a dentist;"partner" means a spouse or a person with whom another person is living in a domestic and sexual relationship;"person with HIV and AIDS" means a person whose HIV test indicates, directly or indirectly, that he is infected with HIV and AIDS;"positive", in relation to the result of an HIV test, means a result which shows that the person who is tested is infected with HIV or which shows evidence of such infection;"post exposure prophylaxis" means the administration of one or a combination of anti-retroviral drugs after probable exposure to HIV, for the purpose of preventing transmission;"post-test counselling" refers to the process of providing a person who submitted themselves for an HIV test with risk-reduction infonnation and emotional support at the time the test result is released;"pre-test counselling" means the process of providing a person, before such person undergoes an HIV test, with information on the biomedical aspects of HIV and AIDS and emotional support with respect to the psychological implications of undergoing an HIV test;"self testing" in relation to HIV infection, means a prescribed test or series of tests carried out entirely by a person on self without the involvement of another person, which determine whether a person is infected with HIV;"testing centre" means a testing centre approved by the Cabinet Secretary under section 16;"tissue" includes an organ or part of a human body, semen, breast milk and any other substance or secretion, other than blood, extracted from the human body or from a part of the hunlan body;"Tribunal" means the HIV and AIDS Tribunal established by section 25.