WEEKLY BULLETIN The National Empowerment Network of PLHIV in Kenya (NEPHAK) Say yes to life say yes to life say yes to life say yes to life 9th – 15th November 2014 Edition 45 NEPHAK Conducts dialogue forum Task Force on the Amendment PBO on sustainable financing for HIV and Act Welcome but stop the Propaganda! At last, there is now a Task Force to consult citizens Health in Kisumu County. With support from Christian AID through the PPA project, NEPHAK last week conducted a successful dialogue forum in Kisumu County. The Advocacy dialogue forum on increased and sustained financing for HIV and health brought together 35 participants among them NEPHAK members from Kisumu County, Civil Society organizations, Ministry of Health officials, the media and County leadership who engaged in discussions on how to plan for sustainable financing for health in the county. Also present in the meeting were 11 members of County Assembly who sit in the health committee representing women and youth. NEPHAK leadership, MOH officials and county leaders following discussions. The County leadership had the opportunity to interact with Stakeholders in health from Kisumu County and chart a way forward for future engagement towards ensuring that the county has a framework for addressing HIV, maternal and child health issues through prioritization and allocations in the county’s health budget. on the proposed amendment to the Public Benefits Organizations Act. The first task of this team should be to deal with the propaganda that the proponents of the amendments have been spreading. Civil society has been referred to as ‘evil and linked to colonialism’ with some media personalities accusing CSOs of “being prisoners of foreign ideologies”. All these because they get their funding from foreign nations. Worse, the latest claim is that CSOs are also funding terrorists while some are involved in money laundering! If the proposed amendments are turned into law, the health sector and the HIV sub-sector will be the greatest sufferers. And when all non-state actors are muzzled and denied funding, even the First Lady’s Beyond Zero Campaign shall come to a halt. Kindly reach out to networks of PLHIV to understand the work of CSOs. AIDS, not HIV turns 30. When scientists from KEMRI reported that a KNH patient was confirmed to have AIDS in 1984, they attention was drawn by the conditions the patient had. They then run tests on the patient and attributed the patient’s conditions to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. As the country prepares to mark AIDS @30, it is important to clarify that HIV was certainly in the world and in Kenya much earlier than AIDS. Speculation is still rife as to the exact origin of HIV and first date of its existence. However, Kenyans should join the global community in embracing what former Zambia President said “It matters not where HIV came from; what matters is where HIV is going”. Participants in a group photo after the meeting FACTBOX: According to the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCOP), an estimated 1 million Kenyans need ART going by the 2013 WHO Consolidated Guidelines. This means that at the moment, some adults and children who should be taking ARVs to prevent and treat HIV have not been enrolled. Key Actions Needed to Realize the Aspirations of the Barcelona Declaration. The signing of the Barcelona Declaration with a commitment to work together for accelerated action and significant investment in the fight against tuberculosis is welcome. NEPHAK takes this opportunity to congratulate the Kenyan leaders who joined their global colleagues to be part of this bold move. The declaration was the culmination of the inaugural Global TB Summit—the first time elected representatives from around the world have gathered to plan how they will work together to combat the epidemic. We are glad that during the Summit, parliamentarians also committed to establishing a Global TB Caucus—a body that will work with NGOs and other international institutions to build commitment in their own countries and beyond for the fight against TB. In Kenya, this will work best when people who have or who have had TB and who are currently engaged in TB work also become part of the engagement. Luckily, the country has existing programmes that can leverage the experience of TB community to support the initiative. For NEPHAK, the main role will be to track the actions and share feedback with the concerned leaders. Nurses Strike: Not Again. The Nurses in public health facilities have indicated they may go on strike if their grievances shared with the government more than two years ago are not addressed. Mainly, nurses want increased pay and more nurses employed to reduce the workload they currently have. This threat by the nurses needs to be taken seriously as nurses are the main health care workers dealing with patients in public health facilities. In a country where the government has promised free maternal and child health services, the first line of investment need to be in supporting health care workers. Nurses are also central to HIV prevention and treatment programmes such as the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Where is the Report on Repeat CCM CSOs elections? A letter has been sent to the KCM Chair requesting for a report from the committee that decided that the CSOs elections should be repeated. The letter sent on behalf of the CSOs by the International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW – Kenya Chapter) requested for the report so that CSOs leaders can know where they went wrong so as not to repeat the same mistakes that lead to the nullification of the last election results. The letter is yet to be responded to. As such, the question still remains: Was there a report? We doubt it! th Section of participants during September 11 CSOs elections Probe Pastor Kayari but also Educate Communities Following an expose by KTNs Jicho Pevu Programme on how pastors cheat their gullible followers and con them their little savings by for example pretending to administer faith healing to them, the DPP Keriako Tobiko last week announced that he would institute an inquiry into the activities of Pastor Kanyari. While this is welcome, we think communities and PLHIV should be educated on the nature of HIV and how it is managed. Pastors seem to be exploiting the stigma and ignorance associated with diseases like HIV. This is work that groups can do if there was adequate support. Unfortunately, resources are not available for a wider community reach. More importantly, the probe proposed by DDP should be made public. NEPHAK Weekly Bulletin is published by the Advocacy and Communications Department at the national Secretariat, 3rd Flr, Wood Avenue Court, Wood ………… Avenue off Argwings Kodhek/Lenana Rd, Nairobi. Articles can be reproduced freely as long as NEPHAK is acknowledged. Further details can be obtained from the Editor, P. O. Box 75654-00200 Nairobi. TEL: 0720209694, Email: info@nephak.or.ke, Website : www.nephak.or.ke, Twitter: NEPHAKPLHA