Low funding threatens HIV battle

Empty chairs, disconnected power, scattered record books and computer monitors strewn all over is what welcomes you to Kenya Network of Women with Aids Centre at the heart of Kiandutu slum in Thika, Kiambu County.

This is the new face of the campaign against HIV/Aids, which seems to have lost momentum. For the first time, UNaids has reported that the money available for HIV/Aids has reduced globally by almost a billion dollars.

CLOSED DOWN

At its peak, Kenwa was one of the country’s best-known volunteer organisations — opening offices and satellite networks in slums.

In its heyday, the Kiandutu outreach facility was home to over 3,000 patients, mostly women who were either HIV-positive or needed support systems and were facing rejection and stigma. Most also needed counselling and drugs, which were supplied by volunteers, government agencies or donor-funded institutions whose core line of duty is health.

Today, Kenwa is a pale shadow of its former self — and confirms the findings of a joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNaids) released this month. The report found that global HIV/Aids response declined for the first time by nearly US$1 billion, as international donors provided less funds, and domestic investment did not keep up.


The Kiambu-based facility has not only been closed down, but they are facing eviction by the landlord after failing to pay rent for nearly two years. The rent has accumulated to Sh300,000.

“Our main donor has been Aphiaplus Kamili (Aids, Population and Health. Integrated Assistance) until the year 2016, when our partnership came to an end after a period of six years. In most cases, their funding is rotational, targeting different groups,’’ said Ms Josephine Wanjiru, who is in-charge of Kenwa in Kiambu County.

When it was fully functional, the facility offered outreach services as well as temporary rescue services to its members who needed urgent intervention before being transferred to hospital for more dedicated care.

SERVICES CRIPPLED

The services offered included healthy eating, how to take antiretroviral drugs, mentorship, sponsored, and vocational training for families whose parents and guardians had been affected by the disease as a continuity measure to keep them in school.

“This was made a success because of the support we were receiving from Kenya Medical Supplies Association (Kemsa) and donors, who offered funds and testing kits. But unfortunately we have not secured new donors for the past three years; and this has crippled our services,’’ said Ms Wanjiru.

The Kiandutu branch opened in 2003 to offer support systems to women who were HIV-positive and their dependants — mostly children. Kenya has been toying with the idea of increasing domestic funding for HIV/Aids to 50 per cent by 2020, according to the 2018 Kenya Aids Response Progress Report.

The report compiled by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the National Aids Control Council says the Ministry of Health recognises the challenges of replacing external funding for HIV and Aids, and has developed a domestic resource mobilisation blueprint.

For Mr Benjamin Kariru, landlord of the Kenwa premises that have housed the organisation for over a decade, the departure of the lobby group will be a blow to the community.

DEPENDANTS

“They have defaulted for nearly two years,” Mr Kariru told the Nation but his patience is running out. “I have been patient with them given the nature of their work but it is becoming a challenge and we are working on how they can vacate the premise so that I can rent it to offset debts such as electricity bills, water and security which have accumulated since they stopped paying rent. I will not seize any of their items to compensate for my rent,’’ said Mr Kariru.

Kenya Network of Women with AIDS was started in the year 1993 by Aids activist Asunta Wagura focused on women with AIDS as well as infected and affected dependants mostly children in the informal slums.

Experts are now warning that the pace of reducing new HIV infections is slowing and that progress in accessing treatment is decreasing. This has now put UN targets to end the Aids epidemic by 2030 in doubt, according to a UNAids report released mid this month.

At the moment, as the UN calls for greater urgency and more resources to protect global gains made in recent years, the fate of small organisation such as Kenwa which have been in the frontline combating the scourge lies with the donors — both local and international.