Kenya CSO Engagement , Nairobi, January 2023

Civil society has played an important role in the response to HIV since the very beginning of the epidemic, calling for access to life-saving medicines, demanding the rights of people living with and affected by HIV and providing critical HIV prevention, care and support. Without civil society, fewer HIV services would be available, particularly to marginalized populations and to people in remote areas.¹

A Civil Society Organizations (CSO) engagement event took place on 30^th January 2023 in Nairobi. It was attended by 15 members drawn from various CSO associations in Kenya, including representatives of Key Populations, Young Girls and Women, coordinated by the LeanOnMe Foundation.

The aim of the meeting was to sensitize members of the CSOs on the impact of Advanced HIV Disease (AHD) and the importance of identifying persons with AHD.

The meeting objectives were as follows:

• Overview of AHD in Kenya and new ARV guidelines
• Presentation and demo of AccuBio’s VISITECT^® CD4 Advanced Disease test

• Discussions on dissemination of this information within the community 

Conclusions recommended development of tools for CSOs to develop community-friendly communication, to understand what AHD is and the role VISITECT^® CD4 Advanced Disease can play in its identification.

¹ UNAIDS https://www.unaids.org › featurestories › may › civil-s...29 May 2018