On Wednesday, one of our staff members was unjustly arrested and detained by Kenya police along with four colleagues while conducting a routine training for civil society seeking to improve HIV and related health services delivery for key populations of criminalized and marginalized communities. We are relieved that all five individuals have been safely released but we are infuriated that they faced this traumatic and oppressive treatment in violation of their human and constitutional rights and that they have continued to face harassment in the subsequent days. Given the U.S. government’s role in funding the training via CDC and the fact that those most directly harmed by police actions are conducting work related to the implementation of PEPFAR programming in Kenya, we have been in close contact with the PEPFAR team in Washington, D.C., including Ambassador Nkengasong, and in Kenya. The U.S. government has a responsibility to work vigorously, using all of its powers as demanded by this situation, to protect the safety of key populations engaged in this work and to align its policy with the realities experienced by those communities. Health GAP will continue to fight relentlessly for our team, their communities, and our movement until people are safe, decriminalized, and able to realize their full human rights.Â
###
