Our Visit to NEPHAK

The National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK) is an organization that consists of community-based organizations, NGOs, and support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) that has a national reach across the different regions of Kenya. They advocate for policy change, promote access to treatment and care, and address stigma and discrimination.

As a national organization, NEPHAK has been a vital partner to WOPLAH in supporting the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in Mumias and beyond. More specifically, NEPHAK has aided WOPLAH in disseminating relevant information related to HIV/AIDS as well as providing technical support and capacity-building. With shared missions and a mutually beneficial partnership, NEPHAK and WOPLAH have been able to support each other and exchange knowledge and learnings.

Recently, the team from NEPHAK visited WOPLAH to learn about the local strategies employed in Mumias. The team visited to learn how WOPLAH uses economic development programs like the Village Banking Project, Community Gardens, and Goat/Poultry Rearing to directly support the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and to reduce the stigma. NEPHAK mainly uses advocacy and community organizing to reduce stigma, so the economic development programs used in Mumias could be very useful for other partner organizations in the NEPHAK network.

Partnerships between WOPLAH and organizations like NEPHAK help expand the reach that community groups like WOPLAH can have, in addition to enhancing the long-term sustainability of both organizations. WOPLAH is happy to share the local strategies used in Mumias and is grateful for the partnership with NEPHAK.