WEEKLY BULLETIN

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: [email protected], Website : www.nephak.or.ke, Twitter: NEPHAKPLHA