KANCO
8/8 provinces
Alliance linking organisation, KANCO, is a premier national membership network of 960 faith-based, community-based and non-governmental organisations responding to HIV and AIDS in Kenya.
According to the National AIDS Control Council, Kenya’s HIV prevalence has fallen from over 13% in the 1990s to 7.4% in 2008. This turnaround can be attributed to sexual behaviour change and a higher death rate from AIDS. The number of new infections is no longer falling and HIV prevention remains critical.
HIV prevalence varies widely from 1% in the North Eastern province to 15.3% in the western province of Nyanza. Urban centres have a higher rate of infection but account for only a minority of the population. Around 2.4 million Kenyan children have lost a parent to AIDS.
Antiretroviral therapy is provided for free in Kenya but supplementary expenses such as laboratory user fees and transport are a barrier to treatment and adherence. Although HIV testing has more than doubled in recent years, still 80% of infected Kenyan adults do not know their status. There are pressing needs to combat stigma and discrimination, mainstream gender issues and rights, and ensure effective and meaningful engagement of those most affected in the national response to HIV.
WHAT WE DO
A national network
KANCO was established in 1990 and became an Alliance Linking Organisation in March 2009. It employs 22 members of staff at its national headquarters and five regional centres.
The organisation provides capacity building support and grants to its members and facilitates access to technical support and training. KANCO sits on national policy and coordination bodies working with policy makers and ministries to increase access to HIV and AIDS services.
Civil society engagement
The Alliance and KANCO will work together to increase access to HIV and AIDS services for vulnerable populations in Kenya. In line with ensuring Kenya achieves the Millennium Development Goals and universal access to HIV and AIDS services, KANCO aims to strengthen coordinated civil society engagement in national level health policy formulation, implementation and monitoring.
The Alliance through KANCO are building the capacity of civil society organisations to carry out anti-stigma activities, advocate and engage in policy discussions around gender and human rights issues and ensure that people living with HIV are fully engaged in the response to HIV.
Partnership with WOFAK
The Alliance has worked with one of KANCO’s members, Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) since April 2007. A group of women, the majority HIV positive, founded WOFAK in 1993 to support one another in the face of stigma, discrimination and rejection. The group now has 3,000 members and provides services to over 7,000 women and 2,500 children through seven resource centres.
WOFAK has created a culture of care and support among its staff, many of whom are HIV positive. WOFAK members are empowered to live positively with HIV and to educate and support others.
With support from Aids Fonds and the Alliance, WOFAK supports people receiving antiretroviral treatment to ensure they are able to adhere to their drug regimens. Services include drug adherence counselling, home-based care, transport refunds, free laboratory tests, treatment for opportunistic infections and nutritional support for the most vulnerable clients.
WOFAK provides antiretroviral drugs to some clients but is gradually transferring these people to the public health care system, where treatment is free at the point of service. This will enable WOFAK to provide treatment support to a greater number of vulnerable people, while ensuring that new clients can start treatment through referral to other providers.