PITCH Sex Work Kenya UHAI & NYARWEK & K.P. CONSORTIUM
PITCH Sex Work Kenya UHAI & NYARWEK & K.P. CONSORTIUM
Project
The Key Populations (KP) Consortium started off with the development of the Kenya Global Fund funding request in 2017 and continued into the joint development of Health and Safety guidelines and the review of National AIDS Council guidelines. The KP Consortium ensures that key populations (KPs) are actively involved in review processes and coordination mechanisms, such as the Universal Periodic Review process (2018/2019) and the Global Fund Kenya Coordinating Mechanism. The current focus of KP consortium activities is to ensure KP representation in national HIV programming and in major national and international policy debates such as AIDS2018. Other activities include capacity development of the consortium, especially strengthening the involvement of people who inject drugs.
Project details
Nairobi
Objectives
Partners under PITCH aim to beat the AIDS epidemic in countries that are most affected by HIV. If sex workers have equal access to HIV-related and sexual and reproductive services, if equal and full rights for sex workers are realised and if a strong civil society exists then sex workers will be able to work under safe conditions. Specific outcomes of KP Consortium include reduced stigma and discrimination of KPs and meaningful engagement of KP-led community based organisatons with government in decision-making processes to protect and promote the health and rights of KPs.
Community groups
About 30-50 representatives from key populations are directly involved and succesful advocacy results will reach KP communities in the constituencies of their network members (currently including GALCK, GHPN-Ke, KENPUD, KESWA, NYARWEK, KHRN).
Background
KP Consortium was established in 2016 to ensure the involvement of KPs such as sex workers, men who have sex with men; people who inject drugs and transgender people in national dialogue and processes. Despite Kenya’s strong political commitment to the overall HIV response, there is little progress in decriminalisation of sex work and there is limited funding for HIV work.
In Kenya 1 in 4 sex workers experience physical or sexual violence and 44% of sex workers are affected by arrests, intimidation and physical violence perpetrated by police. HIV prevalence in Kenya’s counties range from 2% to 26%, with 80% of the national HIV burden concentrated in 20 out of 47 counties. A lot of sex workers live with HIV: among female sex workers the prevalence is 29% and among male sex workers 26.3%.
Partners
