Does democracy help Kenyan citizens to struggle against the HIV epidemic? Yet,
very little attention has been devoted to establish whether political regimes react differently
to the HIV infection. Using an electoral definition of democracy makes a
contribution in understanding which aspects of political rules matter to manage the
disease. Using a difference-in-difference design that draws upon pre-existing variations
in HIV intensity and cohort’s exposure to democracy, we find that a person living under
democracy is less likely to have a HIV infection. Further, we present some evidence
of ethnic favoritism and gender disparities during periods of non-democracy.