Yesterday HIV and AIDS tribunal was sworn in after the appointments two years ago.The main work of the tribunal is to stamp out stigma by prosecuting those discriminating people living with HIV and minority groups be it in schools, hospitals embassies etc. I reached home a bit late i found the chairman of the tribunal saying they will be fighting for the rights of the minority group (sex workers, lesbians, gays, people with disabilities). The right to getting health care services in our hospital without being judged and being discriminated upon among other rights.

I smiled and said to myself finally, the Government has done something or is trying to do something. Then i remembered this Doctor who is working in a Government facility, she once said "if i know my patient is gay or lesbian i will pray for him/her first, make them promise to change before i treat them" then it hit me, there is a lot of work to be done. Not just the tribunal alone sitting and listening to stories about how people who are infected, gays, lesbians, sex workers have been discriminated upon or stigmatized or denied their rights to health care services, but the whole government's health care department needs to change, all the health care providers in Government facilities needs to change their attitudes . Then how do we make the government take responsibility, by all of us who are HIV positive and have been descriminated upon, those of us who have been denied heath care servives because of our sexual orientation or our work (sex worker)or our disabilities to tell our stories in the tribunal, let those who are found guilty be punished and prosecuted.

On my bed just thinking about the whole issue, I asked myself, how many tribunals have been formed in Kenya to look at different issues? Many and they made their recommendations to the same Government and nothing happened. So how will this be different? I asked myself. My answer is hope, i have hope that one day people living with HIV and AIDS will not be stigmatized anymore, that lesbians, gays, people with disability and sex workers will not be judged and discriminated upon, that one day they will walk to the government health facilities and get services without any prejudice, then when is that one day? That one day is now, when we all make our stories heard, that is the one step that is needed. I know that change starts with a one simple step. The simple step has been taken by the government and the simple step that we should all take.

I am not saying lets be hopeful the Government will deliver or act after the recommendations from the tribunal. We should be part of it in all the stages, where we tell the stories, see the perpetrators persecuted and then remind the same Government of their flawed health care services, believe me its not that they do not know they know. We must demand for the change, let's all speak with one voice, let's all talk the same language and let's all be our sister keepers. Many are times us young women and women we are always saying we have been left out and we do not know how this processes were done or how people were chosen in some of the Government positions. Do you think if we sit and wait we will be called and be told to participate, no that can never happen in this patriarchal society,let us be part of the process. My two cents