For 45 years, the University of Manitoba has partnered with the University of Nairobi and the non-profit Partners for Health and Development in Africa (PHDA) to achieve successful STI and HIV research, prevention, care and treatment programs to the most vulnerable communities in Kenya and in Africa. These include female sex workers, men having sex with men, transgender individuals, and individuals enrolled in methadone clinics.
From Left to Right: Dr. Keith Fowke, President Michael Benarroch, Chancellor Anne Mahon, Dean Peter Nickerson visit UM partner community clinic in Nairobi, Kenya.
The majority of clinical services and drugs supplied in these clinics is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program and the Global Fund.
"The recent announcement by the US government that this funding is paused, massive work stoppages, and that the USAID program is at risk of being dismantled, sent a major wave of stress and fear amongst these communities in Kenya it was palpable," said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost and dean (health sciences) and dean, Max Rady College of Medicine, who visited the UM partner clinics in Nairobi last week along with UM President Dr. Michael Benarroch, Chancellor Anne Mahon and medical microbiology and infectious disease head Dr. Keith Fowke.
"Individuals who have had their HIV counts reduced to undetectable levels for 20 plus years allowing them to feel well, are now at risk. We know that missing one's medications will lead to a resurgence of the HIV virus as well as new drug resistance. While immediately impacting these communities, it also has global implications as we have learned from the COVID pandemic - drug resistance will spread across the world."
Because the aforementioned vulnerable communities are deemed illegal in Kenya, they are stigmatized by the public health system and at risk of extortion by the police or incarceration by the legal system, Nickerson noted.
"We take great pride in the success of these community clinics. Over the last 45 years the UM has played a key role in building both clinical and research capacity that is now led by Kenyans," said Nickerson. "The goal is to advance care in both the prevention and treatment of HIV AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections."
A major part of the success of these clinics is the investment in peer educators, including paralegals, who provide critical information and support to members of their communities, he added.
"The clinics provide an environment without judgement where individuals can come for peer support and counselling, in addition to receiving appropriate medical care. Without access to life-saving medications, millions of people living with HIV will be at risk."
Nickerson called on researchers and physicians to both advocate for the US administration to reverse its foreign aid decisions and ask the Canadian government to step into the breach to prevent this humanitarian tragedy from occurring across the developing countries of the world.
"I was reminded and affirm that health is a human right and we who live in abundance have a duty to care for our fellow human beings," he said.
