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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 84530, member: 27"] Civil society groups are freaking out over Senator Okiya Omtatah's court case targeting the Kenya-US Bilateral Cooperation Framework that bankrolls HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs. Members of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya are demanding that Omtatah drop the lawsuit, warning his move threatens access to critical support for over 1.4 million Kenyans living with HIV. Hundreds of Kenyans staged a peaceful protest in Nairobi on Friday to air their grievances. Youths, women, men, elderly folks, and persons with disabilities marched from Jeevanjee Gardens downtown to the Supreme Court and National Assembly carrying banners and placards. Both institutions weren't in session, but demonstrators promised to organize nationwide protests until the case gets withdrawn. Protesters argued that blocking the funding could wreck progress against these three major diseases. Edith Nyambura, one of the demonstrators, said NEPHAK members showed up to raise concerns about what's happening in the country. She stressed that the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria matter, and hearing Omtatah went to court to stop the funding puts lives in crisis. Nyambura pointed out that continued support kept over 1.4 million Kenyans living with HIV healthy. Benard Baridi warned protests would spread nationwide, starting in Busia County, Omtatah's home turf. He asked Omtatah to withdraw the case scheduled for hearing, noting Kenya has leaned on external partners for HIV medication for years. Baridi added that cutting the funding could mess up access to antiretroviral drugs, condoms, and treatment, potentially causing advanced AIDS cases. Anne Okaro, national chairperson of the Kenya Network of HIV Positive Teachers, said Busia County gets hammered hardest by HIV, TB, and malaria. She noted over 650 young people infected with HIV, and daily early teenage pregnancy cases could suffer if funding stops. [/QUOTE]

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