“We are very happy to join with the YWCA to share what we are doing in many ways to [combat] HIV and AIDS,” said Muhungi Kanyoro, Executive Director of ECLOF International, which provides fair credit terms to disadvantaged populations in the developing world through its programs in 30 countries.

“[ECLOF] has enabled us to grow our business,” said Zilpa Owino, a leader of a group of women living with HIV who applied for an ECLOF loan to increase their livestock and produce sales. “It has enabled us to do our business peacefully.”

Together with the YWCA, the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) in Kenya, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Cooperative Insurance Company (CIC) in Kenya, representatives from ECLOF’s international and national sectors spoke to the role of microfinance in creating holistic, sustainable solutions to the economic disparity often caused by and contributing to the prevalence of HIV.

Rose Wanjohi, Executive Director of ECLOF Kenya, echoed Kanyoro’s sentiment about ECLOF’s philosophy of collaboration. “We believe in partnerships quite a lot,” she said. “We all need to work together for a common good.”