This document summarizes an initiative by World Provision Centre, a Kenyan NGO, to increase HIV counseling and testing (HTC) uptake among couples by training religious leaders. They trained 22 pastors and church leaders who then promoted HTC from the pulpit and held couple testing days. This led to a large increase in couples testing, from 9% to 39% of clients. However, some challenges remained, like reluctance to test from some churches and men disappearing during testing. The initiative concluded that church support is needed to sustain couple testing and overcome stigma around HIV in the faith community.

1. Increasing Couple HTC Uptake through Capacity
Building of Religious Leaders: Experiences from
Eastern Province, Kenya.
Rev. Simon Shem Ngiki
21st March2013

2. Who are we?
World Provision Centre is a non- profit FBO established in 2001 to
promote sustainable access to HIV Counseling and testing in the
Eastern region of Kenya.
Today we work in two Counties serving a population of 1,983,111
Our main target groups are Couples, Sex-workers and Long
Distant Truck Drivers and Youths.
We have established Voluntary Counseling and Testing Sites
along the famous Mombasa – Nairobi Highway.

3. Our working environment
• Kenya has currently an estimated population of 38.6 Million.
• Adult HIV Prevalence in Kenya stands at 6.2% With
estimated 1.4 Million Kenyans living with HIV.
• KMOT 2009 estimated heterosexual transmission of HIV
amongst couples within unions/regular partnership in Kenya
to responsible for 44.1% of new infections.

4. Our Working environment Cont’d
• Eastern Region is a highly Christian area with over 80% of all
heterosexual relationships being solemnized in church.
• Poverty is directly linked with HIV prevalence even within
heterosexual relations.
• Within the Church establishment HIV/AIDS is shunned as a
profane affliction that must not be mentioned in the pulpit.

5. The Innovation
In 2011 we initiated a six month Project that sought to increase
uptake of HTC Services among heterosexual couples by building
the capacity of 22 churches in Kenya's Eastern region to promote
uptake of HTC Services among their congregations.

6. How did we do this? – Step 1
• Identified 22 target churches within the region.
• Invited lead Pastors and their spouses as well as Church
Chairmen and their spouses to a two day HIV sensitization
Seminar.
• Engaged participants on demystifying of HIV/AIDS within
pastoral practice.
• Tested all participants as couples on the second day.

7. How did we do this? – Step 2
• Pastors and Church Chairmen to use all available Platforms including
the pulpit to talk about HIV.
• All participants to openly attest to having taken a HIV test.
• Church leadership to plan for a Couple Voluntary Counselling and
Testing Sunday (VCT Sunday) of congregations after Church Service.
• Pastors and Church Chairmen together with their spouses to take
lead in testing during the Couple VCT Sunday.

8. So what happened after?
• Overall increase in the number of people tested.
• An increase in percentage of clients tested as couples from 9% to
39%.
• Request for repeat of Couple VCT Sundays by participating Churches.
• Request from non-participating churches for similar Couple VCT
Sunday initiatives.

9. How difficult was it?
• Outright refusal to participate in the initiative.
• Refusal of participating churches to embrace the Couple VCT
Sunday concept.
• Mysterious disappearance of men during couple testing sessions.
• Managing conflict among discordant couples.

10. What did we learn?
• HIV testing is still largely perceived and condemned as a
profanity in the church.
• The deliberate silence of the Church further stigmatizes
HIV/AIDS.
• Couple Testing and Counselling can only be sustained through
a church driven demand for HTC services.

11. ...after all is said and done
HIV/AIDS is sitting in the pews of the Church amongst
our godly congregation.

12. And now photo session

13. And now photo session