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HIV/AIDS activists are pressuring
the eight Kenyan presidential candidates to sign a manifesto that guarantees
increased HIV testing availability, elimination of mother-to-child HIV
transmission, and “accelerated rollout” of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The
activists claim they can deliver votes to the candidates who demonstrate
commitment to caring for the 1 million HIV-infected Kenyans. More than 100,000
HIV-infected Kenyans currently lack ART access.
Until HIV/AIDS activists staged
demonstrations that disrupted campaign events, the Kenyan presidential
candidates had not addressed Kenya’s $1.67 billion shortfall in HIV funding
during the campaign. The final question in the country’s first-ever presidential
debate addressed HIV/AIDS and the need for improved healthcare, but platforms
of the two leading candidates—Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime
Minister Raila Odinga—provided little to no HIV content.
By demonstrating at a Bomet campaign
rally for Odinga’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, activists succeeded in
forcing Odinga to promise a 15-percent increase in health budget funds and ART
access for all HIV-infected Kenyans. A similar demonstration at a Kenyatta
Jubilee Coalition rally in Kisii was not immediately successful in drawing a
similar commitment from Kenyatta. However, Kenyatta’s campaign has promised to
unveil a detailed HIV/AIDS plan before the election. In his 2009 service as
finance minister, Kenyatta signed an agreement to increase health funding by 40
percent. A third candidate, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, also has
promised additional HIV/AIDS funding.
According to Paul Davis, director of
global campaigns for Health Global Access Project, HIV-infected Kenyans are now
willing to forgo traditional tribal affiliations and vote for the candidate who
commits to improving HIV/AIDS services.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
