Enhance greater participation of members and other stakeholders to advocate for development and implementation of HIV & AIDS policies

KANCO will be involved in policy development and advocacy at the national and local levels.  She will facilitate identification of issues and support organisations at the local level to get involved in policy issues and to develop their own policies. In addition, she will engage in policy interpretation for members and other stakeholders and provide technical assistance for organisations to interpret policies. KANCO will promote advocacy for quality services for treatment, home based care and VCT among others. She will also lobby for commitment from the government to implement the international declarations that Kenya is a signatory to. KANCO will lobby for consideration of gender issues and HIV & AIDS care, treatment and support perspectives for inclusion in the national budget.

The following key issues will be the focus of KANCO members and other stakeholders:

1)Thematic policy areas - KANCO plans to give priority to the following thematic policy areas: People living with HIV & AIDS (PLWHA), Orphans and vulnerable Children  (OVCs), Anti Retroviral Drugs (ARVs), Health Sector reform policy, Medium term expenditure framework (MTEF), Gender mainstreaming, Youth, and Home based Care (HBC).

2)International declarations - In implementing her interventions, KANCO will ensure that her work is informed and guided by the relevant International declarations.  Such declarations will include: United Nations General Assembly special session on HIV&AIDS (UNGASS), Abuja declaration, Millennium Development Goals (MDGS), UN Convention on the rights of the child, WHO 3 x 5 initiatives (3million people on ARVs by 2005) and UN Guidelines on HIV&AIDS and human rights. 

3)National policy documents and guidelines - The national policy documents and guidelines will also influence the directions that KANCO takes in the implementation of her programmes.  Some of the important ones include: Sessional paper No.4 of 1997; AIDS in Kenya; HIV&AIDS prevention and control bill 2004; Children's Act 2001; The national guidelines on HIV and AIDS on HBC, OVC, ARV, Condom, Gender, Blood transfusion and safety, MTCT, Communications strategy, Adolescents and reproductive health; and The Kenya National HIV&AIDS Strategic Plan-2006-2010- (NACC).  The documents will provide a framework within which KANCO will operate and give guidance on KANCO"s work on HIV & AIDS and its impact.