• Five women were forced to watch as a group of 20 men ambushed their husbands, brutally killing them before setting their bodies on fire. The grieving widows were then gang-raped by their husbands’ murderers.
• One woman told Merlin how 15 men grabbed her, ripped off her clothes and took turns to repeatedly rape her. Her ordeal went on for hours. The woman is HIV-positive, having contracted the disease years before. That, she claims, is her only measure of revenge for the men she believes will never be brought to justice.
Homes abandoned, lives destroyed
Many women have spoken of being raped at a time when their world, and their country, is already falling apart. Along with losing their homes, belongings and even family and friends, they’re now forced to face life as a rape victim, gripped by all the health complications that label carries.
Pregnancy worries are foremost, immediately followed by the slow sinking fear of HIV.
What Merlin is doing
We have a team on the ground in the Kisii region of southwestern Kenya. We’re helping to give women and children the medical and psychological care they need, including providing post-exposure prophylaxis that reduces their risk of contracting HIV by 80 percent.
Progress to be undone?
Kenya has witnessed a steady decline in HIV for the past few years. There are real fears that this post-election violence against women could reverse the trend, leading to a rash of new infections and AIDS cases.
Merlin emergency response timeline
Perhaps surprisingly, the bulk of Merlin’s HIV and TB programs in Kisii and Kisumu have remained largely unaffected by the post-Election violence. Our teams have continued to run clinics, although the usual intake of patients on regular treatment has dropped, as people stayed in homes or simply fled to avoid the violence.
Here is a rundown of Merlin’s Emergency Response team’s activities, from January 31st to February 6th.
Thursday 31 January
The Ministry of Health ran an assessment in Nakuru district, finding 11 camps sheltering over 8,000 displaced people. The number is thought to be conservative since many people leave the camps during the day, seeking odd jobs in the nearest village or town.
Tuesday 5 February
Merlin would provide mobile clinics for the whole of North Nakuru in a decision reached at a coordination meeting in Nakuru attended by all health agencies responding to the emergency.
Wednesday 6 February
Merlin’s team started running mobile clinics covering camps at Ndundori, Lanet police station and 3 KA. Ndundori camp hosts an estimated 2,500 people, mostly displaced Kikuyus, while Lanet police and 3 KA camps have approximately 140 people composed mainly of Luos displaced from the Lanet area.
Neither the Ndundori nor the Lanet camps had received adequate humanitarian attention, unlike the more well-established camps in central Nakuru and Nairobi. The conditions in Ndundori camp are particularly grim with shelter, medical care and sanitation emerging as priority needs.
During our first visit, Merlin's medical team cared for 333 patients and immunised 43 infants and toddlers and two pregnant women. We provided treatment for malaria, chicken pox, diarrhea, and respiratory infections, among others.
Efforts were made to trace HIV-positive people on antiretroviral treatment (ARV) and those on anti-TB treatment. Out of seven people identified to have been on ARVs had run out of pills while the others had enough to last them one month. We referred one patient on continuation phase of anti-TB treatment to the Ndundori Health Center so he could collect his next prescription.
We have also set up and are running two mobile clinics in Kisumu, working with the Ministry of Health and Kenyan Red Cross Societies. Essentials like water purification tablets, insecticide-treated nets, soap and sanitary pads are being distributed in all camps.
Merlin has recommended to the Ministry of Health that we run at least two clinics every week in all three camps.
Photo gallery: The faces of Kenya’s conflict