Copy
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter
Website
Website
Email
Email
Weekly Bulletin

Edition 34: 25th - 31st August 2019 
View this email in your browser

Kenya CSOs Call for Broader Engagement with the UN Agencies

       
 CSOs Leaders Join the incoming UNAIDS Kenya Coordinator, Dr. Medhin Tsehaiu in Nairobi last week                                             

Civil society organizations, including networks of people living with, at risk of and affected by HIV and related co-infections and comorbidities have asked for a broader engagement with the UN agencies in Kenya. The call for broader and expanded partnership with the UN agencies was made last week by a team of CSOs leaders at a meeting with the in-coming UNAIDS – Kenya Country Coordinator. The new UNAIDS – Kenya Head, Dr. Medhin Tsehaiu has taken over from Dr. Jantine Jacobi who has been assigned other roles by the UNAIDS. 

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS is also the lead globally behind the 90.90.90 HIV treatment targets and works closely with both government and non-government agencies to deliver the same by 2020. The Kenya CSOs and communities have fostered a partnership with the UNAIDS office in Kenya and now wants to do the same with the other 10 UN agencies. In this way, the CSOs will not only impact the health and wellbeing of communities but also expand its work to address the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the past, CSOs have worked closely with the UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and UNESCO. It is such initial partnerships and more that the CSOs are now seeking to expand. 

With the support of UNAIDS, the Kenya CSOs and communities developed a roadmap to guide their engagement in the acceleration of the implementation of the fast track plan targets and achievement of universal health coverage goals. The roadmap covers a broad range of issues, including targets beyond the health sector. To fully implement the roadmap, the CSOs will need a broader partnership especially in the areas of gender equality, sexual reproductive health and rights, human rights and health justice. Other areas covered in the roadmap relate to non-HIV health issues, including HIV co-infection and comorbidities that comprise other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 

 In the context of HIV, CSOs and communities are anchoring their engagement on the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS that committed countries to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and which, affirmed the critical role of communities in fast-tracking the HIV response towards achieving the 90.90.90 targets by 2020 and beyond.  The HLM also recognized that to meet the concerned Fast-Track targets through people-centered systems for health, community responses to HIV must be scaled-up, striving that at least 30% of service delivery is community-based and community-led. In the roadmap, CSOs have prioritized the assessment to gauge where Kenya stands with the commitment for resource allocation to community-based and community-led interventions. Civil society Organizations (CSO) are a necessary anchor to reach the aspiration for epidemic control. This will also benefit the achievement of universal health coverage. 


NEPHAK AGM 2019 Comes amid fall in ‘Organizational Revenue’.

NEPHAK Members line up to register at a past AGM.
 
NEPHAK 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held this week at the Star of the Sea Secondary School, Mombasa County. An estimated 100 delegates drawn from 28 counties are expected to the event which will among other things call for a review in the NEPHAK Constitution and governance arrangements. The 2019 AGM comes at a time when the organization has experienced a 33% fall in its income compared to the 2018 annual financial statements. The fall is attributed to the dwindling donor prioritization of health and HIV financing. The situation at NEPHAK reflects what is happening in other communities – led networks.

Nonetheless, the AGM brings an opportunity in which the NEPHAK membership and the PLHIV leaders who will attend the event shall be updated on the new and emerging HIV and health issues. Of importance is that the AGM comes some months before the date set for the delivery of the 90.90.90 HIV treatment targets and members will reflect on the progress made and challenges encountered with the acceleration of the fast track targets and the pilots of the universal health coverage in 4 pilot counties. For UHC, attention will be paid to PLHIV leaders from Kisumu, Machakos, Nyeri and Isiolo counties. 

Of particular interest is the fact that the 2019 AGM will be an opportunity in which the NEPHAK membership will be sensitized on the plans and progress of the rollout the people living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0. The People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 is a result of a partnership between the Joint Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the International Community of Women Living With HIV (ICW). Since 2004, these partners have led a broad consultation process and the final comprehensive tools (questionnaire and user’s guide) build on existing work by numerous organizations and specialists in index design. It is the updated version that is being implemented in Kenya. An all-inclusive national steering committee has been put in place to provide leadership for the rollout of the survey. For details, see the call for consultant below.

As is now the tradition, the AGM will end with a call by the NEPHAK membership and those attending the forum. From the board meeting last week, the call to be issued through a statement by the NEPHAK Board Chair will be calling upon the national and county governments to increase direct resource allocation for health and HIV programs. Th call will also touch on the prudent and effective use of the currently available resources. It is expected that each of the representatives attending the AGM shall carry this call to their respective county leadership to add on to the dialogue about the dwindling donor funding. 

 

Call for PLHIV Stigma Index Consultant; HIV Treatment Literacy Materials Development Facilitator and External Auditor.  

 
In order to fulfill its mandate and serve her membership, NEPHAK is calling for interested and suitable individuals and firms to engage in specific areas as outlined below. The tasks outlined in the calls and terms of reference in the links below are expected to lead outcomes that will enable NEPHAK to improve on its accountabilities and generate the evidence needed to inform an invigorated engagement in the acceleration of the fast track targets. You may get into the NEPHAK website to get the details of the calls: https://nephak.or.ke/ or directly at the updates: https://nephak.or.ke/updates/ 

A)    PLHIV Stigma Index 2.0 Consultant
In many countries and communities, the stigma associated with HIV and the resulting discrimination can be as devastating as the illness itself. Acts of discrimination commonly include abandonment by spouse and/or family, social ostracism, job and property loss, denial of education and medical services, and violence. Fear of these consequences means that people are less likely to voluntarily take HIV tests, disclose their HIV status to others, and adopt HIV preventive behavior, or access treatment, care, and support.

The People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 is a tool to be used by, as well as for, people living with HIV. It supports the Greater Involvement of People living with HIV and AIDS (GIPA) principle driven by PLHIV and their networks. By acting on this principle, preparation of the Stigma Index will empower both the individuals and communities most affected by the epidemic. The roll-out of the People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 in Kenya will be instrumental in increasing our collective understanding of HIV-related stigma and discrimination: detecting changes and trends and tracking their underlying drivers, providing evidence for the success or failure of current programming and highlighting neglected areas requiring future action. 

As efforts to address stigma and discrimination increase, so does the need for a standard set of tested and validated stigma and discrimination indicators. Ultimately, the main aim of this project is to broaden the understanding of stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV in different countries and to be able to find out if there have been changes over a period of time. NEPHAK is, therefore, looking for a suitable and qualified research partner to support the roll-out of the PLHIV Stigma Index 2.0 in Kenya. For details, see: https://nephak.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TOR-Kenya-Stigma-Index-Survey-2019-NJO.pdf


B) HIV Treatment Literacy Development Facilitator
Kenya is currently working on the acceleration of the delivery of the 90.90.90 HIV treatment targets with the aim of getting people living with HIV to achieve and sustain viral suppression. In the context of Undetectable Equals Untrasmittable (U=U), the hope is that the sustained viral suppression will help eliminate chances of HIV transmission and put Kenya in the path to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Achieving and sustaining viral suppression requires a high level of adherence to treatment by PLHIV. 

Treatment literacy aims to help individuals and communities understand why HIV treatment is needed, and what it can and cannot do. Effective treatment literacy, developed by or with people living with HIV and those taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), can lead to improved health outcomes, better adherence and retention of patients to drug regimens and higher uptake of voluntary counseling and testing.

NEPHAK is seeking the services of a facilitator to develop comprehensive and effective treatment literacy materials to be used in interpersonal communication with audiences and influence behavior change. The facilitator will develop well-designed materials with tailored messages that have the potential to impact social norms and behaviors that lead to adherence in order to achieve viral suppression and optimize outcomes in patients with HIV. For details on the assignment, see: https://nephak.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ToR-for-TL-Facilitator-NEPHAK.pdf


C)    External Auditor
NEPHAK is inviting reputable and suitable Auditor, Audit teams and/or audit firms to submit a proposal for conducting an independent external statutory audit of its financial statements for the financial year January 01, 2019 - December 31, 2019. This is a statutory requirement with the objective of Ascertaining the true and fair view of the organizations financial position; Ascertaining that NEPHAK’s internal controls, processes, guidelines, and policies are adequate, effective and in compliance with governmental requirements, industry standards, and organization policies and; generating information to enable the NEPHAK management and board improve on financial management, risk mitigation, accountability, and financial reporting. For details, see: https://nephak.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/External-Audit-NEPHAK-Call-and-TOR.pdf
Share
Tweet
Forward
+1
Pin
Share
To join our community and receive our bulletins click this link: http://nephak.or.ke/subscribe/

NEPHAK Weekly Bulletin is published by the Advocacy and Communications Office at the NEPHAK National Secretariat. Articles can be reproduced freely as long as NEPHAK is acknowledged. Further details can be obtained from The Editor Tel: 0720209694, Email:info@nephak.or.ke, Website: www.nephak.or.ke, Tweet us: @NEPHAKKENYA

Like EDITION 34 NEPHAK Weekly Bulletin 25th August 2019 on Facebook






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
NEPHAK · E7, Nine Planets Apartments, Kabarnet Road, off Ngong' Rd., Nairobi · P.O Box 75654 · Nairobi 00100 · Kenya

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp