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Involving Church Health Institutions (CHIs) in the care and treatment of HIV & AIDS

Global trends over the years reflect a general decrease in AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of scaled up access to much needed Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines. However, the trend for new HIV infections have been on the increase in Sub-Saharan Africa region. The statistics showed sub-Saharan Africa’s new HIV infections accounted for 71% of the world’s new infections, despite having 12% of the global population (2013 statistics).

With support of various stakeholders EPN has been supporting efforts of supporting and improving involvement of Church Health Institutions (CHIs) in the care and treatment of HIV & AIDS. The stakeholders include the International Network of Religious Leaders living with and/or personally affected with HIV&AIDS – Kenyan Chapter (INERELA +Kenya), National AIDS Control Council (NACC), National AIDS & STI Control Program (NASCOP), Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops/ Kenya AIDS Response Program (KCCB/KARP), Dr. Mary Mahy (Strategic Information Department – UNAIDS, Geneva) and Dr. Stanley Ndwiga (HIV specialist – Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, Nairobi) among others.

Activities in this intervention included;

  1. Advocacy – to increase access to pediatric HIV treatment in the faith based sector
  2. Improving HIV Treatment Literacy among religious leaders – on prevention, testing and treatment of HIV
  3. Building capacity of EPN health care facility members on prevention, testing and treatment of HIV

Resultantly, as part of the Faith Sector Working Group of the National AIDS Control Council (FWSG – NACC), EPN contributed to the revision of the Community AIDS Program Reporting (CAPR) tool. It also provided technical information in various NACC-led partner strategic meetings such as during USAID/PEPFAR and World Council of Churches (WCC) – Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Inititiatives and Advocacy (EHAIA) scoping visits.

The revised CAPR tool as well as the then newly published HIV Messages Mainstreaming Booklet were employed as some of the tools used in co-facilitating treatment literacy workshops for religious leaders in different counties in Kenya.

EPN further co-facilitated a treatment literacy workshop for 43 religious leaders from different Christian denominations as well as Islam faith in Embu County, Kenya in October 2018. Topics covered were on prevention, testing and treatment of (including treatment adherence) HIV; Stigma and Discrimination; Human Rights around HIV; Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kenya.

NACC FSWG National Coordinator, Christine Njogu facilitaing HIV Literacy workshop for religious leaders in Embu county, Kenya.