KELIN, in a bid to encourage the probono spirit among law students, facilitated 2 full-days training with a focus on Legal and Ethical issues in Relation to HIV and AIDS. The sessions took place on 5th and 19th February at University of Nairobi, School of Law, Parklands Campus.

KELIN conducted the training with the objective of strengthening the capacity of the Law students on the various human rights components relating to Health and HIV in order to complement the legal aid activities and outreach services of SALAR. This opportunity would also offer an insight into possible career prospects in this field.

Forty four (44) students were trained and those who successfully completed all the modules were certified. The target group comprised of male (23) and female (21) student-members of  Students Association for Legal Aid and Research (SALAR), all aged between 18 and 30 years.

Besides Allan Maleche – Coordinator, Melba Katindi – Advocacy & Training Officer and Emma Day – Volunteer all whom are KELIN staff, the facilitators also drew from a wide range of experts. They included:

1. Dr. Pauline Samia; qualified Pediatrician and a lecturer at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi
2. Commissioner Catherine Muyeka Mumma (The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution, Board Member – KELIN); Advocate of the High court, expert in the field of Law, Gender, Rights of children and Persons with disability and HIV related Human Rights
3. Commissioner Winnie Lichuma (Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), Board Member -- KELIN); Advocate of High Court, expert in mainstreaming human rights, gender and HIV and AIDS in development programmes
4. Mr. Ambrose Rachier; Advocate of the High Court, expert on property rights and human rights and legal & ethical issues relating to health
5. Ms. Asiema; Advocate of the High Court, Member of the Equity Tribunal, Lecturer at University of Nairobi and Patron of SALAR also attended the sessions and guided the students in developing the way forward.

Mr. Rachier interacts with SALAR members

The sessions occasioned a better comprehension among the trainees of legal and ethical issues pertaining to health, HIV and AIDS. By interacting with the legal gurus, the students got an insight into the practice and procedures in HIV – related litigation.

The training concluded with the participants making important resolutions towards addressing some of the issues that came up during the sessions. It is our hope that as a result of this training SALAR, with continued technical support from KELIN and other partners, will be the champion in advocating for HIV awareness within University.