World News for Students of English

25-05-2026 07:00

Kenya has made huge progress in fighting HIV over the last ten years and has reduced new infections significantly. However, this success is now in danger because the country is running out of free condoms.

More than half of these condoms used to come from international donors, especially the United States, but Washington has slashed its foreign aid. This change leaves vulnerable groups, such as sex workers, in a difficult position because they can’t afford to buy protection. Activists and experts warn that without free supplies, Kenya could go back to the critical situation of the 1980s and 1990s.

The problem is made worse by high local taxes on importing even free condoms, which makes local distribution too costly. Furthermore, local workers report a sharp rise in sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies among young people, who make up the majority of the sexually active population.

Difficult words: significantly (in a way that is large or important enough to be noticed), donor (a person or a country that gives money, food, or clothes to help others), slash (to cut something with a sharp tool, or to reduce an amount of money very sharply).

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