KELIN participates in the Second Legal Training for African Lawyers on Removing Legal Barriers to Prison Health and Human Rights

KELIN Lawyers participated in a legal training for African Lawyers on Removing Legal Barriers to Prison Health and Human Rights. The Training, which was organized by the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC), aimed at enhancing the capacities of legal practitioners from thirteen countries to successfully identify, strategize and litigate cases that advance health rights and access to HIV and TB services for prisoners. Litigating on the health rights of prisoners would in the long run contribute to removing legal barriers that impede effective HIV and TB health responses for key populations. The training took place from 13 – 15 March 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The three day training was attended by a total of ninety six participants from the countries of Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Among the participants were key resource persons including academicians; human rights experts; representatives of United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and other regional bodies; representatives of communities of sex workers, Men who have sex with men (MSMs), transgender, prisoners and activists among others.

During the Training, practical cases that have been litigated across Africa to advance prisoners’ right to health were presented and discussed. For example, Colleen Daniels (Stop TB Partnership, Switzerland) led a panel discussion on a rights-based approach to TB. The panel consisted of Allan Maleche (Executive Director, KELIN) who introduced the Nairobi TB and Human Rights Strategy and the TB and Human Rights Compendium of Cases; Dr Heena (TB Proof) who presented the plight of TB survivors; and Timothy Wafula (HIV/TB, KELIN) who shared the TB is Not a Crime case through a video presentation.

“This training incites the need to relook at current strategies of realizing prison health and human rights and ensuring integrated and holistic provision of health services. TB remains a problem in prisons and can only be effectively addressed when #PrisonRights are achieved.” Timothy Wafula (KELIN)

Mr. Ted Wandera, the Key Populations Programme Officer at KELIN, who also attended the training, noted that:

“The training was informative, educative, provocative and an eye-opener on the need to urgently litigate for the rights of prison populations if indeed the wider public health concern is to be achieved.”

The presentations that formed part of the training can be accessed at SALC website here.

To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms: Twitter: @KELINkenya using these hashtag #PrisonHealth, #TBisNotACrime, and #PrisonRights; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya

For more information contact:

 

Timothy Wafula,

Programme Associate, HIV and TB

Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN)

Mombasa Road, Somak building 4^th Floor

P O Box 112 – 00200

Nairobi

E-mail: twafula@kelinkenya.org