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The Kenya AIDS Nongovernmental
Organizations Consortium (KANCO) and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
anticipate more than 2,000 participants will march from Jevanjee Gardens to
Uhuru Park in Nairobi during their sponsored NO RETREAT ON AIDS event on Friday,
May 10. The march is part of AHF’s worldwide “Keep the Promise on AIDS”
campaign to sustain HIV funding from key partners like the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR). The theme of the Nairobi march is “Msi Sare Now, Fund HIV.”
Msi Sare is slang for “don’t give up.”
AHF launched the campaign in July
2012 when 1,432 organizations from 103 countries marched during the XIX
International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, to solicit global funding.
Participants in the initial rally included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev. Al
Sharpton, Wyclef Jean, Tavis Smiley, Dr. Cornel West, Ambassador Andrew Young,
and Margaret Cho. A November 2012 “Keep the Promise” rally in Atlanta focused on
healthcare reform, prevention and care in rural areas, and housing for
HIV-infected persons. A similar rally and march took place in April 2013 in New
York City. Supporters in Cleveland plan a rally on May 11.
PEPFAR funding cuts that resulted in
the closure of a Durban, South Africa HIV clinic that served 5,000 men, women,
and children, inspired the first African “Keep the Promise” rally in February
2013. Swaziland also plans a “Keep the Promise”-themed rally on May 12.
AHF Kenya Consultant and Senior
Advisor Dr. Stephen Karau urged the US government to restructure programs to
make funds stretch further or increase funding to consolidate gains against the
HIV epidemic.
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!
