EGPAF in Kenya’s Video Wins Award Grant

The Positive Action for Children Fund (PACF) in association with MTV/Staying Alive Foundation and the International AIDS Society asked NGOs and community groups worldwide working on prevention and elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV PMTCT, to take part in a film competition – Every Footstep Counts. The annual competition aims to showcase and celebrate the successes community partners are making worldwide that are integral to end mother-to-child transmission and pediatric HIV. Six months, 27 entries and 240,000 votes later, EGPAF- Kenya’s video, Bread of Life, won the competition. The team won a grant of $10,000 and a sponsorship to attend the recent International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam.

The competition was judged in two phases. In the first round, videos were subjected to a public vote. The top six videos proceeded to a judging panel.

“This is the third competition we have had, and this year we received a record breaking 240,577 votes being cast from across the globe including Africa, USA, Canada, Europe, and India,” said David Redfern, Chairman of the Board of ViiV Healthcare during the award ceremony.

He added that EGPAF-Kenya’s video stood out from the rest because of the compelling way it illustrated a grassroots approach that plays a part in the global response to the HIV epidemic.

Bread of Life is about a women’s psychosocial support group running a community bakery in Lowarengak, a town in Northern Kenya near the Kenya-Ethiopian border. The 52-member group has overcome stigma and members are able to have a source of income for their families thanks to their work in the bakery.

The members bake and sell the bread and are also educated about the importance of ARV retention. Selling the bread helps to tackle both self-stigma and stigma from other community members.

Also, members of the group have achieved viral suppression which is when the amount of virus is reduced to an undetectable level.

It is an empowering story of how these women have overcome stigma and have been able to improve their lives. Rogers Simiyu, Senior Technical Advisor Retention Adherence and Linkage for EGPAF-Kenya

Although Turkana  is a drought-prone, marginalized area, the coming of different interventions that are grouping individuals with common purposes are proving that it is possible to improve the health and economic outcomes of the people. According to the National AIDS and STI Control Program,)Turkana County has one of the lowest viral load suppression rates for clients on ART in the country (67%, compared to a national average of >80%). This is contributed to a large extent by malnutrition and other factors including poor access to health services, migratory nature of the community, low literacy levels and high stigma rates.

With the $10,000 award, this low cost and high impact project will be expanded to serve more women and families in Turkana County,” said Dr. Eliud Mwangi EGPAF-Kenya Country Director.