Finding Courage in Faith: Religious Leaders Challenge Stigma and Mobilize a Faith-based Response to HIV in Kenya

This four-page brief, prepared by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Health Policy Project, shares strategies and lessons learned from the Health Policy Initiative's work to help support the Kenya Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (KENERELA+). This group seeks to equip, empower, and engage religious leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS to live positively and openly as agents of hope and change. The brief states that the network has gained national recognition and inclusion in key policymaking bodies, cultivated strong champions at both the national and community levels, and stimulated active responses to HIV in faith communities. In addition, as a result of KENERELA+'s efforts, religious leaders in Kenya are beginning to speak out openly about their HIV status.

According to the report, the integral role religion plays in people's daily lives places religious leaders in a position of tremendous trust and influence. Unfortunately, instead of serving as places of refuge from stigma for people living with HIV (PLHIV), churches and mosques have often been a source of stigma and discrimination, and religious leaders have been slow to respond to the epidemic.

The report outlines how the Health Policy Initiative trained KENERELA+ members in a wide variety of topics and helped them learn new skills. This new knowledge has enabled the network to mobilise communities, reach out to new members, and advocate for a stronger, more cohesive religious response to HIV. One of the ways the network put its new knowledge to use was by encouraging churches and mosques to design HIV policies.

According to the report, KENERELA+' has:

• gained representation in national policy- and decision-making bodies, such as National AIDS Control Council (NACC) committees;
• sparked a new HIV response in faith communities, including increased uptake of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and more support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC);
• changed attitudes, leading to greater openness about HIV and HIV status among religious leaders;
• expanded from 44 to 1,000 members and formed 25 support groups;
• reached underserved populations on Lamu Island and in Laikipia District; and
• mobilised new resources and forged new partnerships.

According to the brief, network support groups have taken the lead in advocating for stigma and discrimination reduction and increased access to care, treatment, and support. In Lamu, for example, a local sheikh has become a powerful champion of the network. Using the training he received from KENERELA+, he produced a pamphlet on HIV based on quotes and principles from the Koran. He has been using the document to reach out to his fellow sheikhs and encourage them to become more engaged in the fight against HIV.

The brief states that one of the keys to KENERELA+'s success has been the cultivation and support of strong individual champions. In the past, almost no religious leader spoke openly about his or her HIV status. One of the first Kenyan religious leaders to publicly disclose his status was Bishop James Otieno Okombo. When he revealed his HIV-positive status in 1996, Bishop Okombo was excommunicated and stripped of his position. KENERELA+ has provided him with training and a national platform, helping him to become a familiar face across the country. The media have taken up his story and he has been featured on television and radio.

KENERELA+ has also faced challenges in its quest to mobilise religious leaders. A lack of monitoring and evaluation capacity and a shortage of human and financial resources have been key challenges. The network plans to address these by building the capacity of support groups in monitoring and evaluation and by continuing to mobilise resources from a variety of sources. They are exploring ideas for income generation, including publishing a quarterly magazine and offering trainings to other organisations at a small fee. Another issue KENERELA+ has grappled with is how to address differences between its Muslim and Christian members.

The brief shares some of the lessons learned from the network. KENERELA+ says that successful implementation and delivery at the grassroots level is more effective than centralised action. KENERELA+ has also found that, following training, grassroots support groups and community-based organisations are eager to launch activities but they are held back by limited resources. A small amount of start-up funding is needed to help them get off the ground.

The network will continue to mobilise membership, foster the formation of new support groups, and hold retreats for religious leaders to help them overcome stigma. KENERELA+ is planning to more actively work with the country’s top religious leaders to gain their support. One area the network plans to strengthen is the involvement of women clergy. The group also hopes to establish a call centre where religious leaders can call in to get support, guidance, and information.

Editor's note, September 28 2017: Our apologies, but this document is no longer available online.