The world set a goal to end these diseases as public health threats by 2030.
Kenyans will still be battling common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2030, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report has warned.
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The report cites weak health systems, funding cuts, and growing resistance to drugs used to treat STIs such as gonorrhoea.
Launched during the International AIDS Conference last week, the report assessed global progress in combating HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections since 2022.
The world set a goal of ending these diseases as public health threats by 2030.
However, the report found that the fight against STIs is falling behind. Gonorrhoea and syphilis cases are rising in many places, while the drugs used to treat gonorrhoea are becoming less effective.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the findings present two contrasting realities.
"This report tells two stories. It demonstrates what is possible when countries invest in health, communities and science. But it also shows how quickly progress can be undone with funding disruptions, humanitarian emergencies and persistent inequalities,” he said.
“Over the next five years, we must build integrated, resilient health systems that reach those furthest behind."
Kenya's National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) says at least 309,419 people sought treatment for sexually transmitted infections at health facilities across the country in 2023 alone. Many more cases likely went undiagnosed.
Syphilis screening has increased significantly in Kenya. Health workers tested about 1.29 million people in 2020. By 2025, that number had risen to 1.42 million, according to NSDCC data.
The positive news is that confirmed cases fell sharply during the same period, dropping from nearly 16,000 in 2020 to just over 9,000 last year. However, the disease has not been eliminated.
Nairobi recorded the highest number of cases in the country in 2025, with 1,068 positive cases after 161,020 people were screened. Homa Bay recorded fewer cases but had the highest infection rate at 1.4 per cent, roughly double Nairobi's rate.
Uasin Gishu and Machakos counties have also recorded sharp increases in recent years, making them what health officials describe as resurgence zones.
Turkana, once the worst-hit county in Kenya, reduced its syphilis cases by more than half between 2023 and 2025 through community outreach and faster treatment.
NSDCC chief executive officer Dr Douglas Bosire praised the progress.
"Turkana county faced the most severe crisis in the country in 2023, recording 1,182 positive cases. Through relentless localised health campaigns, swift treatment and community outreach, the county cut that burden by 54 per cent, dropping to 540 cases in 2025," Dr Bosire said in June this year.
He said Kenya's target is to reduce syphilis prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics to below one per cent by 2030, in line with the country's new integration plan combining syphilis, HIV, TB and hepatitis services.
Gonorrhoea poses a greater challenge.
A study published this year by Kenyan researchers, including scientists from the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the University of Nairobi, found that the bacteria causing gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to commonly used antibiotics.
The researchers described the disease as an urgent public health threat in Kenya and called for stronger surveillance, better diagnostic tools and stricter controls on antibiotic use.
These findings mirror the WHO report, which found that resistance to ceftriaxone, the main drug used to treat gonorrhoea, has reached alarming levels of five per cent or more in several countries, mainly in Asia.
The report warns that if resistance continues to spread, gonorrhoea could become very difficult, or even impossible, to treat with the medicines currently available.
The report also identifies eastern, central, and southern Africa, including Kenya, as having some of the highest rates of congenital syphilis in the world.
Congenital syphilis is transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy and can cause stillbirths and serious birth defects if left untreated.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, who leads WHO's department for HIV, TB, hepatitis and STIs, said the report should guide countries on where to focus their efforts.
"This assessment is more than a progress report; it is a practical guide for action for the second half of this strategy period. It highlights where countries are succeeding, where progress is stalling and where investments can have the greatest impact.,” she said.
“Together with our new consolidated HIV service delivery and HIV surveillance guidance, WHO is equipping countries with practical tools to strengthen programmes today and reach the people and communities who need them most."
