International HIV & AIDS campaign launch

ActionAid’s international HIV/AIDS campaign was launched at a mass rally in Kenya in front of thousands of activists, with President Mwai Kibaki joining the ‘Get on board’ team in Nairobi, where he committed himself to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The president of Kenya pledged to "fight the disease until we stop it", and he called for everyone in Kenya to join the campaign. The rally was held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), a well-known landmark in Nairobi, where about 5,000 HIV/AIDS campaigners filled the square.

Groups of activists carried banners displaying messages from the Network of Women with AIDS (KENWA), the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, the Movement of Men against AIDS in Kenya, and many other civil society organisations.

The Kenyan Minister for Health, Charity Ngilu, gave a speech calling on the President to stand in solidarity with those living with the disease and help stop the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. Going further than most politicians, she promised to bring a new bill to parliament which would guarantee that people living with HIV/AIDS get anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for free. They currently pay about 500 Kenyan shillings per month (about £4), making them prohibitively expensive for over 80% of Kenyans who live in poverty and survive on less than 60p per day. 

a message for the g8
The overwhelming message from those who are living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya is that it’s poverty that’s killing them, not just the virus. Those at the rally were all too aware of the huge strain that debt repayments are having all on their lives. For the politicians, it’s difficult to invest in healthcare and education when nearly one third of your GDP goes to repaying debts.  For the activists, who attended in their thousands, their messages to the G8 leaders - as well as to their own politicians – showed that they hope for a future without poverty.

photo : ©Jess Hurd/ ReportDigital/ ActionAid International