Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The New Vision (Uganda) - March 23, 2001
A country report on women and children just released by Unicef said about 43,000 children are born with HIV in Uganda every year.
The report says half of the children could be prevented from catching the virus from their mothers, using short-lived drug treatment and feeding them on alternatives to breast milk.
"Recent data has shown that a combination course of AZT can reduce transmission by up to 50%. Even more encouraging is the result from a study of another cheaper drug, nevirapine, which produces a protective effect at least equal to AZT," the report says.
The report said Unicef will also support projects on teenage HIV prevention, youth peer education, child rights, orphan support, AIDS education, school sanitation, and support for children in conflict areas.
The Unicef country representative, Michel Sidibe, commended Uganda for the progress in the fight against HIV but said the pandemic had "eroded much of the economic and social gains all over the country."
He said in his foreword to the report that one in every four households has fostered a child. The burden is put on an already poor household
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