Sylvia Nakasi

Sylvia is currently the Acting Executive Director for the Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations (UNASO). She has extensive experience working on HIV prevention, research advocacy and program development and management, with specific focus on project cycle management, resource mobilization, capacity building, networking and advocacy at the community, district, national and international levels.

Fellowship Focus
Sylvia documented lessons learned about VMMC for HIV prevention implementation and influenced its rollout in Uganda. She also explored and documented perspectives regarding ARV-based prevention in Uganda in order to prepare for the possible introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), 1% tenofovir gel and treatment as prevention.

In Their Own Words
In my opinion, as advocates it’s our duty to bridge the knowledge gap in our communities, sensitize the communities and help change their attitudes and behaviors towards interventions that would most benefit communities to make prevention and treatment a reality.

Sylvia’s Advocacy

Grace Kamau

Grace is currently the Regional Coordinator of the Africa Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA). Before her Fellowship project, she was involved in HIV prevention programs with the Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme (BHSP), which supports a membership of more than forty thousand sex workers, and where she worked as project officer coordinating sex workers across Kenya. She was the Secretary of the Sex Worker Alliance for Kenya and sits on the Kenya Technical Advisory body for sex workers.

Fellowship Focus
Grace engaged sex workers and bar hostesses to better facilitate acceptance and engagement with PrEP and microbicides research. She explored the issues and concerns about possible future access to these interventions for sex workers and bar hostesses. As Fellow, she engaged policy makers on the benefits that these potential HIV prevention interventions could have for high-risk groups.

In Their Own Words
Sex workers are an easy target in a time of crisis. Clients feel they can take advantage of them, and law enforcement think they can use them to show that they are implementing COVID-19 measures.

Media

Oliver Kanene

Oliver is the Executive Director at Business for Social Change (BfSC), Zambia. He came to the Fellows program with a wealth of experience as a journalist and development worker with experience in HIV prevention activities. Since 1986, he has used his extensive experience in media and communications to work towards confronting the stigma around HIV/AIDS on many fronts. With support from local and international organizations, he started a newspaper, AIDS & Health News. He has worked with several local, regional and international organisations, including the Zambia Institute of Mass Communications (ZAMCOM) and John Snow Training Institute and Concern Worldwide, among others. Oliver holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Tampere in Finland.

Fellowship Focus
Oliver used his extensive media and HIV/AIDS experience to build a cadre of journalists who consistently, accurately and responsibly report on HIV prevention research in Zambia. He also worked toward creating linkages between researchers, civil society and media, thereby contributing to a favorable HIV prevention research environment. He used the MDP 301 trial process as a case study.

In Their Own Words
Science is worthless if it is not shared with people, but sharing can only happen if the media first understand the processes involved.

Brian Kanyemba

After ten years as advocate, Brian’s focus is now on HIV prevention and HIV funding in the African region. Brian’s advocacy has been directed toward obtaining better access to HIV education and prevention tools for the communities that need them the most. Before becoming a fellow, he brought this experience to his work at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, where he serves as a research assistant for the Men’s Health division. In this position, Brian worked daily with participants on the Global iPrEx study, and he has used this opportunity to refine his perspective on HIV biomedical prevention options.

Fellowship Focus
Brian’s project brought attention to underrepresented voices of the MSM community and fostered their engagement in HIV prevention research. He helped bring their ideas, opinions, concerns and knowledge to the question of how best to scale up PrEP as an HIV prevention intervention. He worked with service providers, community leaders, policy makers and other stakeholders to encourage them to involve MSM in future prevention programming and to increase their overall focus and inclusion of this vulnerable community in their work, research and/or services. Brian allowed for the mainstreaming of guidelines, national policies and laws to better reflect the opinions raised by MSM.

In Their Own Words
PrEP programs can be started quickly using existing facilities and staff. MSM are willing to pay for PrEP if delivered at an affordable price. Active education and outreach are needed to reach diverse groups of MSM for PrEP.

Leader Kanyiki

Leader founded and currently leads an organization called “Batho Pele Coalition”, focusing on counseling and support for young people and their families around issues such as substance abuse. He is also a consultant with Africa Unite’s youth programming. Before becoming a Fellow, Leader focused on issues of child sexual exploitation through the Sonke Gender Justice Network. His advocacy work began as a university student body president and later as President of the Provincial Student Union in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), his homeland. As part of a team of researchers, Leader investigated torture and kidnapping and monitored national elections. After becoming a registered nurse, he began to focus on HIV/AIDS, and in 2007, he moved to South Africa, where he has worked for several organizations, including Planned Parenthood Association Whole World Women Association and Save a Soul Brigade.

Fellowship Focus
In his Advocacy Fellowship, Leader advanced the national discussion on VMMC within South Africa, promoted the importance of integrating gender equality education and supported the South African National AIDS Council’s efforts to roll out VMMC among young South African men. He worked with the media to provide a platform for medical professionals, researchers and activists to debate and elaborate on the new HIV prevention method.

Simon K’Ondiek

Simon is a public health educator/advocate with considerable experience in health research, advocacy and community engagement in both domestic and international settings. He is a researcher and community organizer with a strong focus on improving the quality of life through health communication and cooperation with key populations and local communities. His current work in implementation science seeks to ensure that affected communities are actively engaged in and inform HIV prevention research.

Fellowship Focus
Simon documented issues/challenges arising in VMMC rollout in Nyanza Province in Kenya through a photography documentary focused on addressing knowledge, attitudes and gaps in scale-up efforts. Simon worked with community members to take photos and conduct interviews with others. He built an advocacy task force to work within Nyanza to monitor the rollout of VMMC in Nyanza district.

In Their Own Words
There’s a need for woman-controlled methods for HIV prevention, specifically for adolescent girls and young women and key populations to lower and eventually eliminate new HIV infections. We must all do everything we can to ensure that those interventions are developed and that they are put in the hands of those who need them the most.