The DFID funded Rights Based HIV &AIDS prevention project started in September 2010. The four year project which runs from September 2010 September 2014 will be implemented in 25 prisons under Prisoner Rehabilitation programme and is targeting prisoners, ex-prisoners and their home communities.

The project goal is Contribute to reducing the spread of HIV, improve the quality of life of those infected and affected and mitigate the socio-economic impact of HIV and AIDS in Kenya in line with Kenya National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan with a purpose of reducing HIV/AIDS incidences within prisoners and for those who are living with HIV/AIDS and improve access to quality care, support, services and improved conditions. RODI Kenya is implementing the project in partnership with Interact world wide

Introduction
In Kenya poverty is rife and it pushes many people into crime especially in a country where poor people’s coping and survivor activities are criminalised.  The poor unlike the rich end up in prison after committing offences for lack of money for legal representation and/or for paying court fines. Poor people go into prison only to leave worse of because of interacting with hard core criminals and the appalling condition of our prisons. They get rejected by the community after leaving prison only to return into prison through re-offending or trumped up charges and the cycle of recidivism continues.  By working with prisoners to address HIV/AIDS, SRH, growing and processing immune boosting foods, which is central to this project, RODI will be addressing poverty from the source in the most creative way of involving the target groups.    

The idea of this project originated from RODI’s involvement with prisoners, who expressed their needs and felt that existing interventions in prisons did not adequately, address their SRH&R needs. For a number of years RODI’s intervention in prisoners’ welfare was through PREP, which was found to be incomplete without addressing issues of HIV and AIDS.

The project aims to improve the SRH&R of prisoners and ex-prisoners, especially in relation to HIV and related vulnerabilities, access to appropriate care and impact mitigation, and to improve living conditions and quality of life in prisons.

The project aims to achive the following 6 outputs:

1. Improved awareness and knowledge among prisoners, ex-prisoner community groups and prison staff, regarding HIV and AIDS and broader SRH&R, health seeking behaviours, negotiation skills and strategies for vulnerability reduction and protection
   
2. Increased empowerment, sense of self-worth, participation, mutual care and support among vulnerable prisoners, ex-prisoner community groups and those living with HIV and AIDS
   
3. Improved enabling environment within prisons with regard to information, knowledge, reduced stigma and discrimination through increased capacity to provide information, care and support for the prevention, treatment and care of HIV and AIDS and other health issues
   
4. Increased access to and uptake of quality HIV and AIDS and broader health information, services and commodities, among prisoners
   
5. Improved enabling environment, through collaborative advocacy, at the decentralised, national and international levels, for HIV and AIDS and broader sexual and health related rights of prisoners, including in relation to reducing stigma and discrimination
   
6. Organisational and financial assessments of RODI’s capacity in technical and management areas