The High Court in Nairobi ruled Wednesday that an HIV data collection directive violates fundamental rights to privacy and is therefore unconstitutional [KELIN press release]. The data collection was ordered [directive, PDF] by President Uhuru Kenyatta [official site] last year in order to identify and treat children living with HIV/AIDS. However, the report collected sensitive information that many feared [KELIN report] could lead to identification and stigmatization of those impacted. Activists used the hashtag #UHURUHIVLIST to gather public support against the directive because it included the names, guardians and addresses of persons with positive statuses. The High Court agreed, finding the order was unconstitutional [Tweet] and mandated that stakeholders find a way to ensure collected data was stored in a manner which prevent linking the person and their status.

Human rights continue to be an important issue, especially as regards to discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. The UK Court of Appeal in November approved [JURIST report] the National Health Services to fund research into the HIV drug PReP. A group of UN independent human rights experts said [JURiST report] in June that human rights violations contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS.