Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - September 20, 2002
Lillian Nalumansi
Most of the money will be used to create awareness among spouses on the high-risk transmission of HIV/AIDS to babies through breastfeeding, the main feeding method.
UNICEF Uganda Deputy Representative Kari Egge said breast-feeding constituted 15% chances of HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to babies.
Some mothers have been monitored at Arua, Nsambya, Mengo, Mulago, and Lacor hospitals where the PMTCT pilot programme has been implemented.
She said about 20,000 babies born in Uganda every year were likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS.
"The STD/AIDS Control Programme reported an overall HIV prevalence of 6.1% in Uganda for the year 2000, which implies that there are about 70,000 HIV positive pregnant women each year. Studies conducted at Mulago Hospital have shown that 30% of the HIV positive mothers transmit the virus to their babies," reads a booklet produced by the PMTCT programme.
"There are huge tasks that have to be made in the area of HIV/AIDS. We have to reduce this 6.1% infection rate. The money will be used to sensitise women to stay on the programme," Flemming Pedersen, the Danish Ambassador to Uganda, said at the UNICEF offices on Kisozi House.
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