Training Course Held on Human Rights and HIV Challenges in East Africa

The Law and Health Initiative and the Open Society Initiative for East Africa pioneered a two-week training course for East Africans on the linkages between law, human rights, and HIV/AIDS. 

Organized by the Human Rights and Peace Centre at Uganda’s Makerere University, the course highlighted the legal and human rights challenges posed by HIV, and analyzed methods of using the law to promote the rights of HIV-affected persons. Attending the first course of its kind in Africa, this year’s participants from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda included lawyers, scholars, and activists from a variety of backgrounds including law firms, governmental agencies, and national and international NGOs.

The course adopted a highly interdisciplinary approach and involved a practical clinical component, where participants paid a field visit to the AIDS Support Organization to observe firsthand the challenges in providing access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care.

At the end of the training, the participants analyzed Uganda’s draft legislation on HIV prevention and control by comparing it to similar laws in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, as well as international laws and standards. The participants developed recommendations for the legislation, with a view to ensuring that the final draft upholds human rights standards.

The course was held in Kampala, Uganda, from May 4-15, 2009. Organizers hope to offer the training course annually.