The Public Health Program's Sexual Health and Rights Project and the Open Society Initiative for East Africa hosted a two-day meeting in Nairobi focused on the health and human rights of sex workers. The meeting provided an opportunity for organizations from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to discuss their work and share best practices.
Though several of the groups had met in the past, for most it was their first opportunity to describe the scope of their work to other organizations with similar mandates, and hear new approaches to common problems. The meeting included a session on technical assistance options for strengthening organizations and projects, and a discussion on common advocacy priorities to determine whether collaboration would be beneficial.
Based on these discussions, the Open Society Foundations will continue to provide targeted technical assistance to several of the groups, and will explore how to best support them to work together in 2011 to combat police violence against sex workers.