Suzan, 17, a mother of one, recently woke up to the reality of marginalisation of women in property matters. This was after the death of her 62-year-old-husband who died of HIV/Aids shortly, after their marriage last year. She was eight- month- old pregnant then. Close sources say Susan was forced out of primary six to
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has once again defended the Domestic Relations Bill, saying it would assist in dealing with HIV/Aids and solving family and marital problems of promiscuity. Museveni was in Kimaanya parish church in Masaka municipality at the wedding of Rose Namuddu and Joseph Kawalya Birimumaaso, son to the f
A RECENT HIV/AIDS survey has revealed that 21% of married women in Rakai district engage in extra-marital sex and over 90% of them do not use condoms. Around 40% of married men engage in extra-marital sex and only 12% persistently using condoms. The was survey conducted by the Uganda Aids Commission in conjuncti
Health minister Brigadier Jim Muhwezi has said the Ministry of Finance is cooperating with his in receiving funds from donors to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in the country. He said the recent disagreement between the two ministries on whether Uganda should accept additional donor funding against the diseases had end
The health and finance ministries are in negotiations over the transfer of money meant for anti-AIDS drugs into the country without causing inflation in the economy. State minister for health Captain Mike Mukula said his ministry wants drugs to be availed to the country s thousands in need of the drugs immediately.
The chairman of the Uganda Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS, Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga, has urged media organisations to re-design anti-AIDS messages and adverts so that they can suit the present needs of the population. Godfrey Kagoda reports that Rubaramira said most of the adverts and awareness messages designe
Children need to be kept longer in schools to protect them from contracting HIV/AIDS, the Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has said. He said this in a speech read by health minister Brig. Jim Muhwezi at a symposium organised by Straight Talk Foundation as part of the activities to mark 10 years of keeping adolesce
Parliament yesterday passed a motion recognising Dr. Peter Mugenyi, the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) for his exemplary work in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Uganda and the world over. Mugenyi, who has been the JCRC director since 1992, has received different awards in the area of HIV/AIDS.
President Yoweri Museveni yesterday said city and town authorities should spearhead the fight against HIV/AIDS through making strategic plans to prevent the spread of the pandemic. He said since AIDS spreads fastest in urban centres, the role of leaders in confronting the scourge is crucial. Museveni made the remarks i
Over 700 children and students in Jinja District have taken to the streets with banners and placards to sensitise the public about HIV/AIDS. The campaign which took place recently, included a parade in Jinja town that commenced at the AIDS Information Centre (Jinja) and proceeded to Main Street Primary School, where th
Prisons staff infected with the AIDS virus will get free aids drugs. The Prisons AIDS control programmanager, Dr. Denison Nyabwana, said this would prolong their services to the institution. He said the project was meant to help infected employees realise that being positive was not the end of life. We shall ensure tha
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has urged parents not only to advise their children on the use of condoms and other HIV/AIDS preventive measures but also to counsel them to abstain from pre-marital sex. Museveni was yesterday opening the Rainbow House in Nansana, Wakiso district, an orphanage for HIV/AIDS and other disadvant
AT least 90% of HIV/AIDS infections in Uganda are through mother-to-child transmission, normally by expectant mothers who deliver at home. A Ministry of Health official, Grace Nabisubi Mularira, said this during the launch of prevention of the mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme in Apac district recently.
THE Ministry of Health is to get equipment to test HIV/AIDS instantly, the minister, Brig. Jim Muhwezi, has said. He was on Wednesday reacting to concerns by MPs during a debate of a report of the standing committee on HIV/AIDS. Members of Parliament from Kanungu, Kalangala and Kamwenge districts said they did not hav
Kabarole district chairperson Augustine Kayonga has advised residents to test for HIV. I as a district leader have tested and I am free from AIDS. I urge fellow leaders at all levels to go for voluntary counselling and testing, Kayonga said while displaying the certificate he received after the test. Kayonga said this
THE WORLD marked another AIDS day with no cure. That is the bad news. But the good news is that abstinence from sex, being faithful to a partner and using condoms can effectively curb the spread of HIV. In a country like Uganda , where transmission is mainly through sex, the ABC strategy is very effective in the fight
Adolescents, youth and young people aged between 14 and 24 years are prone to infection of HIV/AIDS in Uganda . This poses a challenge to the government and stakeholders in the social and health sector to devise means to prevent the transmission of the disease, maintain health care and improving their quality of life.
VICE-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya yesterday commended the US government for the support it has given to Uganda and other developing countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS, writes Vision Reporter. Meeting US ambassador Jimmy Kolker in Kakiri, Bukenya said the US had given crucial support to the anti-AIDS programme
THOUSANDS of people took to Kampala streets yesterday in a march of solidarity against the HIV/AIDS disease, which killed up to 70,000 Ugandans last year. The procession, one of the biggest anti-AIDS march ever in the city, comprised mainly of students, staff from Kampala s five major hospitals, the Police, UPDF, musi
THE Reform Agenda has asked the Government to safeguard anti-AIDS funds and drugs from abuse by sprouting anti-aids organisations and medical bureaucrats. They said their research had revealed many brief-case organisations that have cropped up to take advantage of the global Aids funds. Reform Agenda joins hands with t
The Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda wants reproductive health services made accessible to the disabled. She told a two-day workshop for leaders of people with disabilities that the biggest challenges faced by adolescents with disabilities are unwanted pregnancies and coping with HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has warned the youth to stop the habit of premarital sex as a prerequisite for marriage. They call it okuroza (tasting). This is a false value and it is spreading AIDS. Parents must immunise their children with facts about okuroza. Girls should stop okuroza with strangers, Museveni said.
PEOPLE with AIDS who urgently need anti retroviral drugs will have them free starting January 2004, health minister Jim Muhwezi said at the close of World Aids Day celebrations at Kololo yesterday. Muhwezi said this will make Uganda the second country in Africa after Botswana to give fre
OLIVE Kigongo, the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) president, has called for the private sector to fully join hands with the Government in the fight against HIV/ AIDS. There is a feeling in Uganda that AIDS is no longer a threat, but I want to tell you we are still badly affected. It s time tha
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has criticised religious organisations for mixing up morality and safety, thus helping in the spread of AIDS. About 40 million people are infected worldwide and 1.2 million live in Uganda . Museveni said, I hear people mixing morals and safety. This is very dangerous. It should stop. 11%
The Mmengo government health Minister, Nelson Kawalya has urged rotarians to give more attention to the needy orphans and HIV/AIDS infected people especially in rural areas. Kawalya who is a past rotary district governor made the call at Masaka Sports Club on Saturday after a one day visit of bedridden AIDS victims in
TODAY is World Aids Day. This year s theme: Live and let live: Eliminating stigma and discrimination should draw our attention to the plight of people living with Aids (PLWA). Uganda remains a shining example to the world in terms of its approach to the fight against HIV/Aids. According to the latest figures, HIV/Aids
FORMER Big Brother Africa (BBA) housemates on Saturday broke into tears in Jinja when a 17-year-old girl narrated her ordeal after testing HIV positive at infancy. The housemates, starting their HIV/AIDS awareness campaign, were attending a youth communication seminar on young people s involvement in HIV/AIDS activitie
A health centre for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS has been opened at Bamunaanika in Luweero district. The sh60m centre was built and equipped by Plan International. The equipment comprises HIV/AIDS testing kits, stethoscopes, examination couches and a television set, among others. Speaking at the opening of the centre
President Yoweri Museveni has warned that the biggest threat to the UPDF is not war but the AIDS pandemic, which has claimed many lives than armed combat. Passing out UPDF recruits at Kabamba Military Training School in Mubende, Saturday, Lt. Gen. Museveni told the soldiers, The channels through which the AIDS scourge
Nebbi district has launched a sh0.5b five-year HIV/AIDS control strategic plan and the first Alur handbook on prevention of HIV/AIDS. The district director of health services, Dr. Sam Orach, said the plan that incorporates critical HIV/AIDS and TB prevention, care and support services. He was speaking at Booma grounds
The minister of state for industry, Jennifer Namuyangu, has lashed out at couples who go for HIV/AIDS blood check up before getting married, saying they are against the biblical teaching. Namuyangu said the blood check-ups and use of condoms were violations of God s plans. In our universal apostleship fellowship of rig
Biro , to show in London, is played by Mwine, who is a victim of a generation of political turmoil and AIDS A play traversing the topics of former Uganda president Idi Amin and AIDS does not sound like a night bursting with joy, but this monologue weaves these heavy topics into a rivetting discourse, reports Camden Ne
FORMER BIG Brother housemate Gaetano has joined with Unicef in a countrywide campaign against Aids. The campaign will encourage young people to avoid the risk of infection and not to discriminate against People With Aids. Gaetano sprang to instant fame during the Big Brother TV reality show because he took things close
THE UNDP resident representative, Daouda Toure, has said though Uganda has taken a leading role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, critical gaps still existed and should be highlighted for future programming. He said there was lack of sufficient information on the real and aggregated impact of HIV/AIDS yet stakeholders ne
PROTECTOR Condoms has taken the message of HIV/AIDS prevention through proper condom use to motor rallying events, usually characterised by merrymaking. Popular Services International (PSI) the holding company for Protector has signed a sh12m contract with popular youthful driver William Blick as their flag-bearer in t
All twelve former Big Brother housemates are expected in Uganda on Friday to stage a campaign against HIV/AIDS and give moral support to support people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). At the same time they will advise and encourage young people to stay safe. The joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (
MASINDI district chairman John Nyakoojo Majara has ordered lodge, hotel and bar owners in the district to start providing their customers with condoms in a bid to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. Owners of public places have to take this seriously and mind about protecting the lives of their clients. Starting today, I wa
Health experts and policy-makers from five African countries meeting in Kenya last week urged the continent s men to shun practices such as polygamy, wife-inheritance and female circumcision, saying they help spread AIDS among women. Policy-makers should open an educative dialogue with elders in order to stamp out pra
UGANDA is to receive US$97.6m (about sh195b) from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the Commissioner Health Services, Dr. K.W. Lwamafa, has said. He said $51.8m would go to fighting AIDS, S$10.6m to TB, and $35m to combat malaria. All the money is for three years. Lwamafa was on Tuesday g
MAJOR Rubaramira Ruranga, an officer of the Uganda army, has lived with HIV since mid 1980s despite having diabetes. He believes he would be long dead if he had kept his sero-status a secret. In 1989 Ruranga s doctor told him he had up to three more years to live. Ruranga spoke out openly, sought help and resolved to l
Bundibugyo district chairman Jackson Bambalira has warned HIV/AIDS voluntary counsellors against rumour mongering, writes Frank Kibulya. You have been trained to carry out a very delicate exercise. How you deliver results of the tests determines your client s response to oneself. I do not want to hear mental breakdowns
MPIGI district chairman Badru Kabega has warned employers against sacking employees living with HIV/AIDS. Kabega said the infected had an important role to play towards the development of the country. He was recently addressing residents of Gomba county at Kinoni in Mpigi. Kabega said infected individuals needed an inc
PALLISA district is to receive sh2.5b through the AIDS Integrated Models (AIM), a Government intervention programme aimed at assisting people living with HIV/AIDS. The chief administrative officer, Charles Otai and AIM regional manager Jane Mary Muzungu on Friday signed the agreement to implement the five-year program
Uganda is hailed as exemplary in fighting AIDS. But is it? THERE is so much publicity about HIV/AIDS that many people think that they know all that there is to know. If this is true, then the rate of infection should be going down but instead it is going up in many parts of the world especially Africa which is alrea
THE International Rescue Committee (IRC) is distributing free condoms to lodges in Kitgum town in a bid to stop the spread of AIDS, reports Wokarach-Oboi. The IRC s HIV/AIDS programme manager, Dr Nelson Okone, said last week they targeted lodges and bars because most people frequent them. It is normally in the bars and
Uganda s estimated 100,000 people living with AIDS, who are in urgent need of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) but cannot afford them could soon have access to locally produced ARVs at a cost of less than 50 US cents per day, according to a Ugandan company planning to produce the drugs. The Kampala-based Quality Chemicals (QC),
In a few months time, health teams will move door to door, interviewing randomly selected people and testing them for HIV. Dr. Joshua Musinguzi, a senior medical officer in the AIDS Control Programme, said the teams would not record people s names, so their HIV status will not be known to anybody else. The blood tubes
President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday received an award from the African-American Institute(AAI) on behalf of Ugandans in recognition for their fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty. The AAI gave the award at a dinner hosted by the institute at the UN headquarters in New York while marking 50 years of its existence.
The United Nations (UN) has invited the 12 former Big Brother Africa (BBA) housemates to Uganda to participate in the campaign against HIV/AIDS on the World AIDS day on December 1. The joint UN HIV/AIDS programme ( UNAIDS ) said yesterday they hoped all the 12 housemates would come. Sources said the housemates wi
BURUNDI is to emulate Uganda in its efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, which is fast-spreading in the central African country, reports Charles Ariko. The deputy Speaker of the Burundi Parliament, Frederic Ngenzebuhoro, said Uganda s approach to the fight against the pandemic had proved successful and would be emulated by Buru
THE Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations (UNASO) has attacked the Government over excessive bureaucracy in releasing funds for HIV/AIDS activities in the country. UNASO chairman Samuel Wangalwa recently said Uganda received a big portion of money for HIV activities but it had failed to effectively utilise it to
Orphaned babies, many of whom are HIV-positive, are getting more than basic love and shelter at a home in South Africa s port city of Durban. They are also receiving the gift of immune-boosting breast milk donated by a network of mothers in the city. The mothers voluntarily express the milk their own babies do not need
One of the biggest obstacles hampering the campaign to distribute anti-HIV drugs across Africa may have been overcome by just using ordinary filter paper and inexpensive commercially-available reagents. Researchers report they were able to replicate tests normally carried out by sophisticated machines to evaluate a pat
DISTRICT hospitals in the country will start dispensing free anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs in January. THE Director General of Health Services, Prof. Francis Omaswa, said on Friday the Government would dispatch the drugs to hospitals to be distributed to wananchi, especially poor patients who cannot afford them. Om
THE Global HIV/AIDS Fund recently approved $66m (sh132b) for HIV/AIDS programmes in Uganda , reports Richard Komakech. This was disclosed by the Fund s director, Dr. Vivand Nantumya at the on-going 11th international conference on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) at Munyonyo. He said the Fund had earmarked $60
AIDS patients may soon access anti-retrovirals at less than half a dollar, Health Minister Jim Muhwezi has said. Muhwezi said bidders for supply of ARVs quoted very low prices, with one quoting less than half a dollar per daily dose. He did not name the companies, but the bids were opened on Monday last week. Muhwezi
CENTURY Bottling Company Limited on Monday donated sh6m to Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS initiative project. The Public Relations Officer, Maureen Kyomuhendo, said it was the company s policy to plough back to the community since they are the ones who consume their products. The project coordinator, Margrethe Junker,
WHEN Major Rubaramira Ruranga tested HIV positive in 1989, doctors told him he had a maximum of three years to live. Today, he is still going strong, and no longer worries about dying of AIDS, report Charles Wendo and Richard Komakech. I have lived with HIV for nearly 20 years and I don t think I will be killed by thi
The Chairman of the National Guidance and Empowerment network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga said 8,700 die of HIV/AIDS every day. He said while the initiatives like the Global Fund and WHO emergency response, to deliver ARV to three million people by 2005 are good, the immediate need of anoth
THE use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) has enabled thousands of Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS to live longer, doctors have said. British scientists last week reported that nine out of 10 patients using HAART can expect to live for more than 10 years. Without HAART, only half would live that long. The
The Government has opened bids for the purchase of the first batch of the long-awaited Anti-Retroviral drugs worth US$3m (sh6b). Uganda AIDS Commission director general Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli said the first batch of the ARV is likely to be imported into the country early next year. He said the bids, which were opened on
THE general secretary of the Uganda Muslim Youth Assembly (UMYA), Imam Idi Kasozi, has advised religious leaders not to shun people infected with HIV/AIDS. Religious leaders must change their attitude towards married couples with HIV/AIDS, Kasozi said. He said the clergy tend to avoid such couple thinking that they co
A LEADING US-based pharmaceutical company, Glaxosmithkline, has earmarked US$500,000 (sh1b) for Uganda Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (UBC), the Institute for Youth Development chief, Shepherd Smith, has said. UBC is a non-governmental organisation that promotes HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention at the workplace.
MEN in the internally displaced people s camps in Soroti have asked for free condoms, Julius Okwi reports. In a survey carried out by The New Vision in the camps in Arapai and Tubur sub-counties, the youth and unmarried men preferred protected sex. They said it was hard to abstain from sex, though AIDS and other sexual
THE United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has initiated a programme to assist the Bamasaba (Bagisu) in Mbale and Sironko districts modernise circumcision. President Yoweri Museveni recently told the youths from eastern Uganda gathered in Mbale that the Bamasaba ought to modernise the way they handle circumcision to pr
People in Bundibugyo district shun testing for HIV/AIDS inspite of having a high prevalence rate. Malyam Matovu, the chairperson of Bundibugyo association of women living with HIV/AIDS said this recently while meeting ActionAid and Italian donors. We know the numbers are high but most people still fear taking the test.
THE programme manager for the US-funded Aids Integrated Management (AIM) in the east, Jane Mary Musungu, has called for increased sensitisation on the female condom use at the grassroots. She said the use of female condoms as a way of family planning had not been appreciated among the rural women. Female condoms are no
RESEARCHERS are preparing a large-scale efficacy trial of an HIV infection cream in Uganda following successful phases one and two. The British Medical Research Council (MRC) through its Uganda project, will try two microbicides, Dextrin Sulphate and Pro 2000, on up to 1,000 women in Masaka district mid next year.
OVER 5,000 babies in Uganda are to be saved from being born with HIV infection per year, an official of the HIV/AIDS Integrated Model District Programme (AIM), has said. Ken Heisse, assistant director for quality assurance, said about 90% of HIV-positive children acquire the infection from their mothers during pregnanc
EVERY 21 out of 100 people in Uganda s southern districts of Masaka and Rakai suffer from AIDS-related depression, a study has revealed. Depression among the communities that we studied, appeared to be triggered by grief, dispute or life change, said Lincoln Ndogoni, a psychosocial advisor for World Vision Africa based
HEALTH Minister Jim Muhwezi broke down in tears on Tuesday at the sight of terminally ill HIV-positive children in Entebbe. Muhwezi was moved by the plight of the children, most whom were in critical condition at Mild May Uganda , Jjajja s Home. In a glowing tribute to their determination to live and the selflessness o
President Yoweri Museveni has threatened to stop the cultural practice of circumcision, which he said had endangered the lives of youths through the spread of HIV/AIDS. Museveni was on Sunday evening addressing youth leaders from the 10 eastern districts during a workshop on HIV/AIDS. If necessary, we can stop circumci
THE chairman of the HIV/AIDS committee of Parliament, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, has said Uganda received US$36m (over sh70b) from the Global fund, for the fight against AIDS. He recently told a delegation of Malawian MPs who wanted to know how much was allocated to fighting AIDS, that part of the money had already been re
Efforts are underway to develop a new drug to prevent the transmission of sexual HIV/AIDS. The introduction of microbicides, jelly-like substances that are applied in the vagina to prevent HIV transmission will mark a new phase in the HIV/AIDS control. One of the products is currently being tested in
MALE attitudes towards women and sex have long been acknowledged as one of the biggest sources of Africa s AIDS pandemic, but changing them is a task that would have made Hercules himself throw up his hands in despair. That was the opinion of many experts at the ICASA AIDS conference in Nairobi, where the typical Afric
The number of AIDS NGOs in Uganda has shot up from 50 in 1990 to more than 2,500 currently, the director of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), said recently. Uganda s acclaimed decline in HIV prevalence would not have been possible if the Government did not work closely with the NGOs, Coutinho said in a plenary add
THE impact of HIV/AIDS on women is so severe that they need special assistance to enable them achieve a reasonable standard of living, an official with the Uganda Aids Commission has said. Joyce Namulondo Kadawe, the head of the commission s social sector, said one of the problems facing women is caring for children or
UGANDA is to host this year s international conference for people living with HIV/AIDS. Uganda becomes the second African country after South Africa , to host the bi-annual global conference. Two hundred and fifty Ugandans living with AIDS are expected to attend the conference, while 650 are from Europe and other Afri
CARDINAL WAMALA warned journalists last week against the use of condoms. He said that condoms were invented for prostitutes and that such artificial methods of contraception promote immorality. He advised that abstinence was the best protection against Aids. Undoubtedly abstinence is the only complete protection agains
A GLOBAL shortage of condoms is hampering efforts to stop the spread of ADIS. An estimated one billion condoms were provided free of charge to people in the developing world last year. However experts attending a major AIDS conference in Paris said the figure falls far short of what is needed. They have also warned tha
THE Association of African Universities (AAU) has called for the institutionalisation of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in tertiary schools as the disease s prevalence rate in higher institutions of learning hits alarming proportions. The association coordinator, Alice Sena Lamptey, said contrary to the belief that the
Catholic Church officials in Uganda have re-echoed their concern over the encouragement of people to use condoms saying that it promotes immorality. His Eminence Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala recently said condoms were originally made for prostitutes. If we want to promote immorality then we shall continue advocating artifi
AT last there is hope that a growing number of AIDS patients will be able to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. Participants at last week s International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Africa (ICASA), were optimistic that Africa would become the biggest consumer of ARVs. The drugs suppress HIV and prolong the lives of A
UGANDA has launched an HIV/AIDS booklet to share her experiences with other countries during the ongoing International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Africa (ICASA). The booklet launched on Monday and entitled Banana Trees Provided the Shade, details how communities responded to the epidemic under the leadership of Preside
THE State minister for northern reconstruction, Grace Akello, has said part of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund(NUSAF) would be used to fight HIV/AIDS in the war-torn parts of the region. The World Bank recently gave Uganda a $100m (about sh200b) grant to fight poverty in the north under NUSAF. Akello was re
MINISTER of State for Health Michael Mukula has announced a groundbreaking initiative to offer life-extending anti-retroviral (ARV) medications to as many as 10,000 Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS by next summer. This is in partnership with AIDS Healthcare Foundation and AHF Global Immunity, the largest AIDS organization
THE Ministry of Health has intensified the use of morphine, a narcotic drug, to ease the pain of terminally ill HIV/AIDS and cancer patients. Under the national health policy, all patients in Uganda will soon have access to the drug. Dr. Jacinta Amandra, the director of clinical services in the Ministry of Health, tol
MARKING a huge stride in efforts to reduce vertical HIV transmission rates in developing countries, American and Ugandan researchers have found a simple and inexpensive way to block HIV transmission during labor and delivery and prevent up to 400,000 new infections annually. Surpassing a short and expensive course of
UGANDA is known to be at the forefront in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but it is hard to believe that the country has no hard data on the impact of the epidemic on the various sectors, including education. No comprehensive study has ever been done to find the approximate number of teachers and students succumbing to the
THE fate of the high-tech satellite equipment worth over US$500,000 meant for anti-AIDS broadcast programmes in Uganda is unknown. The equipment was set to be auctioned in Kampala on Monday after the supplier, Ashford International, a US communication company that was to install it, failed to pay US$57,917.14 to Kuehn
ONE hundred Ugandan women are testing a new anti-HIV cream, known as microbicide. The cream is simply squeezed into the vagina to prevent HIV transmission. The microbicide code-named PRO 2000, is being evaluated by the British Medical Research Council research project in Uganda, in collaboration with Nsambya Hospital.
THE co-ordinator of the AIDSmark Faith Based Organisations (FBO), Dr. Pauline Muchina, has advised priests to preach about sexually transmitted diseases especially HIV/AIDS, reports Charles Kakamwa. Muchina was meeting Busoga Diocese Development co-ordinator, the Rev. Chris Kyewe, at Bugembe on Wednesday. He said this
--With parents dying of HIV/AIDS, the role of parenting has shifted to grandparents who are most times helpless IT is a case of the vulnerable looking after the vulnerable. In the face of HIV/AIDS, we have seen the number of orphans soar. Today, statistics show that Uganda has two million orphans. In the absence o
Three US mayors have proposed a sharing of expertise in the HIV/AIDS fight between their cities and Kampala and other municipalities in Uganda . The mayors want to work with Uganda in the fight against the two-decade old epidemic. Jack Ellis (Macon, Georgia), Victor Ashe (Knoxville, Tennessee) and Elizabeth Kautz (Bur
--Ugandan women in their 30 s were paying $27 a month for their twice-a-day pill called Triomune Contradicting long-held prejudices have clouded the campaign to bring AIDS drugs to millions of people in Africa. Evidence is emerging that AIDS patients there are better at following their pill regimens than the Americans.
The World Trade Organisation finally agreed on to let poorer nations import cheaper generic drugs to fight killer diseases such as AIDS and malaria, ending an often bitter, long-running row. The pact plugs a gap in world trade law and allows countries unable to produce their own medicines to override patent rights and
THE Ministry of Education has instituted an advisory board to support research on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector, reports John Eremu. Through an Irish Aid, the ministry has also recruited a technical advisor on the disease as the epidemic takes centre stage in the sector s strategic planning. Catherin
A HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) report reveals that the Ugandan government s failure to address rape and attacks on women by their husbands increases women s risk of contracting HIV. HRW asserts, Ugandan women are becoming infected with HIV, and will eventually die of AIDS, because the state is failing to protect them from
CHRISTINE Akot (not real name) is a 35-year-old widow in Tororo, Eastern Uganda . Her husband died last year of what she suspected to be AIDS. True to her suspicions, when Akot went for an AIDS test, she was found to be HIV positive. Despite the numerous information on radio, in newspapers and leaflets supplied to hou
The Ministry of Health wants to have over half of the country s AIDS patients receiving free antiretroviral treatment by the year 2005, officials responsible for the Government AIDS policy have said. The new target was set after the Global Fund for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS suggested that Uganda would
PARLIAMENT has demanded that the Minister of Health halt plans by the National Medical Stores to re-export AIDS drugs imported at subsidised rates. The social services committee chaired by Dorothy Hyuha in their report on the Ministry of Health s budget policy statement, noted that it was shocking to learn of such plan
IT is almost 14 years since the National Theatre based musicians Club 89 was started. It had one goal then and that goal, 14 years on is still on top of their agenda - to bring musicians together under one umbrella, so that their needs can be addressed. Since its inception, the club has assisted musicians during hard t
THE national coordinator of people living with AIDS (PWA), Major Rubaramira Ruranga has criticised leaders who use statements that are detrimental to people infected with HIV/AIDS. Rubaramira said, I have heard some leaders and high profile people referring to PWA s as people who got the disease due to misbehaviour but
For the first time in modern history, the World Health Organisation will recognise August 31, this year, as the African Traditional Medicine Day. The day is to highlight the need to bring on board traditional medicine to help in combating the Aids. Dr.Dorothy Balaba, the director, traditional and modern health practiti
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused government of failure to protect women against HIV/AIDS by delaying the domestic relations legislation. The HRW report released recently said Uganda s failure to protect women from domestic violence and discrimination was raising their risk to HIV/Aids. For more than a decade, U
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has slapped the hitherto ignored Domestic Relations Legislation back in the face of government, accusing the authorities of perpetuating women s risk of getting HIV/AIDS, reports Josephine Maseruka. The HRW report which was released recently, said Uganda s failure to protect women from dome
Kampala - The World Health Organisation is to recognise August 31 this year as the African Traditional Medicine Day. The day is to highlight the need to bring on board traditional medicine to help in combating AIDS. Dr. Dorothy Balaba, the director of Traditional and Modern Health Practioners Together Against AIDS (THE
Kampala - Many unborn babies would have had the opportunity of being born free of HIV/ADS but fathers remain an impediment. Dr Fred Kagwiire, the coordinator of the GTZ funded Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTC) of HIV/AIDS project in Toro region told The New Vision recently that while husbands to many ex
Kampala - UGANDAN experts have dismissed claims by South Africa that a research which led to the discovery that nevirapine could prevent HIV infection from mother to child, was not valid. Prof. Francis Mmiro of the Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, carried out the experiment in Kampala,
Kampala - INDIA plans to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine to prevent the spread of the scourge, reports Geoffrey Kamali. The Indian High Commissioner, Deepak Ray, said this at a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark India s 56th Independence Day on Thursday. The plan is among several others, announced by the Indian President, APJ
David Kaija and Joshua Kaija of Joy Primary School
Titles: I will Miss Mr. Kizito Author: Ernest Wangusa Available at: Fountain Book Point I will miss Mr. Kizito is a good book found in the Fountain Junior Living Youth series. It is a book that teaches children not to have sex so that they can avoid early pregnancy and to give children advice that if they are pregnant,
David Kaija and Joshua Kaija of Joy Primary School
Titles: Don t play with fire Author: Ayeta Wangusa Available at: Fountain Book Point This book is interesting and teaches children many things for example that you should always have one wife. Mr. Khawukha slept with many women so he ended up acquiring AIDS and giving it to Mrs Khawukha who died earlier. Brenda an
JANET Namuyangu, the industry state minister has said her ministry is working out an arrangement through which all HIV/AIDS affected workers in the formal sector will be availed with anti retroviral drugs. We want not only to support workers in the industrial sector but also those in other sectors. This will not only e
Dr. Seth Berkley is always running. In the late 1980s, while he worked in Uganda , he jogged up and down every street and path in Entebbe, morning and evening. Now he is racing against time in the search for an AIDS vaccine. Berkley, President of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), foresees a world witho
Uganda may get US$122m for Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs and orphans programmes from the Global Fund, the UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, has said. Lewis said Uganda will next year increase the number of people accessing ARVs to 60,000 from about 17,000. He said the treatment was to be given
Kaliro Teacher s Training College is located deep in Kamuli district, about 54km from Jinja town. Quite remote you might say. There are students who have never reached even Jinja town, let alone know where the road to Busoga s most urbane town is. Yet, even here, the same youthful fire burns in the eyes and hearts of t
THE National Political Commissar (NPC), Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, has invited Chinese scientists to work with Uganda in fighting HIV/AIDS, particularly in looking for a vaccine. Kiyonga, who is minister without portfolio, has also called for closer political and economic cooperation between the people of
THE Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, has urged the international organisations developing HIV/AIDS vaccines to educate the people on the vaccines and to keep them informed of the progress in their research. At a meeting with the president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Dr. Seth Berkley, at h
President Yoweri Museveni has directed headteachers of primary and secondary schools to address pupils on HIV/AIDS every two weeks. The President s directive is intended to ensure continuity of the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign among children to stem new infections, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff
THIRTY-five volunteers, four of them women, have so far received injections in the ongoing AIDS vaccine trial in Entebbe since February, scientists said on Friday. Dr. Seth Berkley, the President of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), described its progress as rapid. He said this was 70 per cent of the to
The UN has warned countries regarded as HIV/AIDS success stories against being complacent. It said this could lead to increased infections again, reports Anne Mugisa. A UN statement issued on Thursday ahead of next week s high profile visit by UN Secretary General s Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, and Grac
Members of the Community Advisory Board (CAB), with Leslie Nielsen, the Project Coordinator (above) and (below) Clinical team in departmental meeting The spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa calls for accelerated HIV vaccine development efforts to complement behavioral and medical interventions. Community involveme
Kampala: Hundreds of researchers around the world work everyday to find and develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine, but their work cannot move forward without the help of thousands of extraordinary men and women who volunteer for clinical trials. AIDS is a global crisis. Every day 15,000 men, women and children are getting newly
The Government of the Republic of Uganda and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have been working as partners since August 2001 to accelerate the development and testing of vaccines to prevent HIV/AIDS. The main focus of this collaboration is to develop vaccines for use in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa.
THE UN Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis and Mrs. Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, will visit Uganda from July 28 to August 2, 2003. UNAIDS Uganda Country Co-ordinator, Ruben del Prado, said Lewis and Machel s visit would focus on the factors responsible for Uganda s marked progress in combating HIV/
MASAKA district is hit by a shortage of condoms due to increased protective sex awareness, reports Martin Kiiza. The district health educator, Zake Sengendo, recently said the 60 cartons of condoms distributed by the Ministry of Health after every three months was no longer adequate due to the acute demand. Zake, who
The U.N. food agency has said AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa will leave 20 million children without parents to feed them in less than a decade. The World Food Programme s executive director, James Morris said 11 million AIDS orphans already without a mother or father to cultivate crops in southern Africa would be joined by
All new recruits in the Uganda People s Defence Forces (UPDF) will undergo HIV/AIDS training as a way of reducing on the infection rate in the army writes Charity Kalebbo. The Army is one of the institutions that have been seriously affected by HIV/AIDS. The Army Chief of Staff, Brigadier Nakibusi Lakara, said, The UP
GOVERNMENT IS considering provision of free Anti-Retroviral drugs for government workers in both rural and urban areas. Presently around 10,000 people are receiving ARVs from the Joint Clinical Research Centre and various clinics. This is more than any other African country except South Africa . Once again
They are young. They are hip and they are born-again. But most of all, they are very concerned about fellow young and the impact of the AIDS pandemic on them. They are HIP (Heaven s Incorporated), seven young men whose average age is 25. They are staging a show today at Kitante Hill School at 2:00pm. Entrance is free.
REALITY television star Gaetano Kaggwa has advocated for safe sex as the first line of defence against contacting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This is wrong. Common sense, and Uganda s proven experience, points to abstinence first. To turn Kaggwa s own analogy on its head, one stands a zero chance of being knocked
THE Government is to provide free Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs to HIV/AIDS patients in rural areas, state minister for primary healthcare Alex Kamugisha has said. The Government intends that whatever policy to formulate on ARVs should ensure that the poor in rural areas receive unlimited access to HIV/AIDS treatment, h
THE World Bank (WB) has hailed the Government for being at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the world. WB managing director Jeffrey Goldstein said this recently when he visited several orphanages in Nama and Mukono Health Centre. He was accompanied by a team of WB officials who included Jaehyang So, an ad
THE Presidential Adviser on mass mobilisation, Christine Muhindo, has deplored the rate of HIV/AIDS infections in higher institutions of learning, writes Grace Matsiko. Muhindo was recently addressing Nkumba University Rwenzori Students Association at the hand over ceremony of the student s leadership under Yona Kabast
THE Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has initiated an HIV/AIDS programme to fight the impact of the scourge on well-trained and experienced staff. A model of the programme - which will promote voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and provision of anti-retro
The bishop of Lugazi Diocese, Dr. Matthias Ssekamanya, has started an aggressive campaign against teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids among students. He has pledged to supply schools with videotapes on the two topics. He said the nation was losing many of its potential leaders because of teenage pregnancies, HIV/Aids and
Herbert Semakula, the Minister for Sports in the Buganda Government, has advised the youth in Buganda to be at the forefront in guarding against AIDS. He emphasised the use of condoms as a protective measure. He was speaking at the launch of Luwafu Parish HIV/AIDS Youth Sub-project in Makindye Division. Anthony Lubowa,
VISITING US President George W. Bush has reiterated his administration s commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa. The United States is still working on the finer points of how to use the $15b subvention that is expected to be passed by Congress for spending over the next five years. But one of the crucial points the
WHILE in Uganda on his first State visit next Friday, President George Walker Bush and his wife Laura will have a chat with Ugandan AIDS patients and researchers at an AIDS clinic and patient support centre. The US National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, has urged the world to focus on 43rd US leader s agenda for
UGANDA is seeking up to US$66m (about sh140b) from the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS to purchase anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), reports Richard Komakech. The ARVs will be distributed to more than half of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda over the next year under a renewed campaign to combat the disease that has
THE retired Bishop of the South Rwenzori Diocese, Zebedde Masereka, has warned that unless emphasis is put on behaviour change, the HIV/AIDS scourge would continue to be a problem, writes Vision Reporter. Peoples morals have degenerated so much. They are led by instinct and not by reason. So unless behaviour change is
THE Government will carry out a comprehensive nationwide HIV/AIDS testing (sero-survey) before the end of this year to establish the rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country. Addressing a press conference at Parliament yesterday, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS, said
THE South Rwenzori Anglican diocese has trained over 60 community health workers and peer providers to intensify sensitisation against HIV/AIDS among the youth. Under the African Youth Alliance, the diocese has also distributed over 50 bicycles to facilitate the movement of the peer providers. The project manager, Cano
SHE was the only HIV positive woman that testified at the international video conference that attracted nine countries last Wednesday. Jane Florence Kaweesa was giving a testimony on how the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme has saved her children. The conference was a World Bank regional con
THE Education Service Commission (ESC) has denied discriminating against teachers with HIV/AIDS. The Uganda AIDS Commission also weighed in saying the public service regulations would not allow for such a development. It was extremely insensitive of The Monitor newspaper to run such an alarming story without bothering
Standard Chartered bank s staff peer programme, living with HIV has won the global business coalition on HIV AIDS 2003 award for business excellence in the work place. According to a statement from the bank, the award was presented at a high profile event in Washington DC. It recognises the bank s comprehensive work p
MASAKA district LC5 chairman Vincent Sempijja has said the fishing community is the most affected by the AIDS scourge. He said in areas where fishing was done, the numbers of those suffering from AIDS was high compared to other communities in the district. Sempijja was recently opening a workshop organised by the Food
THE HIV/AIDS integrated district Model Programme (AIM) was recently launched in Lira district. The programme that will run for five years, is estimated to cost sh3b. AIM was launched by the newly elected LC5 Chairman, Franco Ojur, at Akii Bua Memorial Stadium amidst applause from the audience. A memorandum of understan
MASAKA district chairman Vincent Sempijja has said the fisheries community is the most affected by the HIV/AIDS scourge. He said a recent survey had revealed the number of deaths and the sick in fishing areas as very high compared to other parts of the district. Opening a workshop at Bwala Social Centre on Monday, Ssem
STATE minister for primary education Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire (right) has advised teachers to emphasise the teaching of life skills to enhance the prevention of HIV/AIDS. She said there has been too much emphasis on academic education and so little focus on life skills. This is the period teachers need sensitisat
RAKAI district has registered a stable HIV/AIDS prevalence of 12%-15% for the last two years. This was revealed recently by the district health educator, Joseph Ssembatya, at the launch of the district response initiative action research programme at the district headquarters. Ssembatya said the HIV/AIDS prevalence, wh
There is urgent need to train child counsellors to handle the increasing number of HIV infected children in the country, chairperson of Uganda Medical Association Dr. Margaret Mungherera has said. Mungherera says medical workers and NGOs helping orphans were finding it difficult to break the news of the HIV status of t
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has told a UN conference in Washington that his Government embarked on an immediate strategy of openness and sensitisation on HIV/AIDS to save Ugandans from being wiped out, reports Anne Mugisa He said that through knowledge of cultural habits and the mode of HIV transmission, it was imperativ
US President George Bush paid tribute to President Yoweri Museveni s extraordinary leadership in the fight against the killer AIDS as the two leaders met at the White House on Tuesday. Museveni was accorded a special hour for being the first African leader to embrace the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at a co
Pamela Byamugisha is the wife to Rev Canon Gideon Byamugisha, the first practising priest in Africa to declare his HIV status 13 years ago. The reality is, the couple faces death from AIDS. However, despite this status, today, they are parents of a healthy, 11-month-old, HIV negative girl thanks to the Mother to Child
AFRICAN first ladies have pledged to mobilise their compatriots to combat the HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination across the continent. This was at a two-day sub-regional conference that ended yesterday in Rwanda . Mrs. Janet Museveni and first ladies from Gabon and
PAINTINGs of children orphaned by AIDS in four African countries including Zambia , Mozambique , Uganda and Malawi are on show at Gallery Okapi. The over 40 colourful paintings depict the world of these AIDS orphans, some of whom are infected.
GOVERNMENT has imported 80 million condoms to help in the fight against Aids state minister for health Mike Mukula said on Friday. He said this at a fundraising concert for Ugandan Aids orphans organised by Ugandan lady musicians at Hotel Africana, Kampala. It is also an initiative of an alliance of mayors in Africa, h
THE Aids Information Centre (AIC) has opened a voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centre in Kaberamaido district. AIC Mbale branch manager, Eriya Murana, said recently the opening of the site was in response to the increasing demand for VCT services in the eastern region. Many people, including couples intending t
THE prevention of mother to child transmission (PMCT) of HIV/AIDS is being hindered by husbands failure to help their wives get treatment. This was stated recently by Dr. Fred Kagwire, the coordinator of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)-funded PMCT project, at its launch in Fort Portal. Giving a report, Kagwire s
STATE minister for gender, labour and social development, Ms Grace Akello, has blamed employers who subject workers to compulsory HIV/AIDS tests as a basis of retaining or recruiting them. Akello was recently speaking at the opening of a one-day consultation meeting on the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), yet to b
THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has urged the youth to abstain from premarital sex, saying that as a mother she would not advise them to turn to condoms, reports Joyce Namutebi. Mrs. Museveni was launching the Youth Talkie magazine at Sharing Hall Nsambya on Monday. She told the hundreds of youth and other guests about
President Yoweri Museveni on Monday received a special message from US President George W. Bush. The message was delivered by Bush s special envoy, Mr. Weldon, who is also the representative of Florida in the American Congress. He was accompanied by Congressman Webster. Weldon hailed Museveni for his contribution towar
THE National Medical Stores (NMS) has pulled out of the controversial deal under which Eris Ltd, a local pharmaceutical company, was to re-export HIV/AIDS anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs imported by NMS. The move follows a directive from health state minister for general duties Mike Mukula to NMS to pull out. Uganda s majo
THE National Medical Stores (NMS), is in advanced stages of re-selling for export a consignment of AIDS drugs imported from the United Kingdom at subsidised rates. The deal, which involves the sale of 700 Combivir and about 1,300 packs of other HIV drugs (anti-retrovirals), is going ahead despite the Ins
During the just concluded session of African Health ministers in Tripoli, Libya , Uganda agreed to provide technical expertise in the development of HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa. Health state minister Mike Mukula told the conference which ended on April 30 that Uganda had vast experience in controlling the disease.
Pressure from society is forcing HIV/AIDS positive mothers to breastfeed their babies beyond the recommended six months, increasing the infection rate. Dr. Phillipa Musoke the head of Makerere University s Paediatrics Department and a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital said that 800,000 of the world s three million HIV/A
When AIDS enters a family, famine finds a fertile ground, a new survey has revealed. The survey found out that families affected by AIDS produce less food because the disease lowers their ability to dig. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and the National agricultural Advisory services commiss
While statistics indicate a decline in AIDS prevalence, the youths are increasingly contracting the HIV virus, the Buganda minister for health, Nelson Kawalya, has said. Kawalya was briefing the Nnabagereka and Baganda cultural leaders from Kalangala and Kampala during an Adolescent Reproductive Health workshop at Ruba
THE AIDS Control Programme (ACP) under the Ministry of Health is to spend over sh1b for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Initiative (PMTCT). Dr. Saul Onyango of ACP recently told a meeting at Fairway Hotel that sh10m will support feeding options for mothers while sh40m will be used for monitoring and supe
The current state of the aids epidemic is such that all should join the struggle against it. And soldiers have not been left behind in this cause. One example is Rubaale Charles, a bush war veteran turned Anti-HIV/Aids activist. Rubaale lives in the once busy main Railway Station of Kasese, which is now a thriving slum
THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has urged parents all over the world to take up educating their children on HIV/AIDS as their primary responsibility to reduce infections among young people. Lillian Nalumansi writes that a press release from Mary Okurut, the Presidential Press Secretary, stated that Mrs Museveni made th
Patients at Arua referral Hospital risk contracting the HIV/AIDS virus because syringes are reused. Dr. Christine Ondoa Onama, a pediatrician at the hospital, said a syringes shortage is the reason several patients, including adults and children share needles. The reboiling of needles is still being done at the hospita
GOVERNMENT is to issue free teacher-pupil guidelines on HIV/AIDS to primary schools in two months time, reports Mariam Nalunkuuma. State minister for primary education Geraldine Namirembe Bitamaziire yesterday said this would empower pupil leaders in the promotion of primary health care in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
THOSE who do not use condoms and contract AIDS commit murder which is punishable by God, the Rev. Can. Gideon Byamugisha has said, reports Raymond Baguma. Byamugisha said people who never use condoms should stop opposing their use. He attacked the Church for criticising condom use and stigmatising Christians affected b
THE Mbarara district education officer (DEO), Dan Tamwesigire, has recommended anti-Aids campaigner Patrick Donald Oucha to campaign in Bushenyi, reports Frank Mugabi. In a March 14 letter to the Bushenyi DEO, Tamwesigire said, Oucha covered 45 schools in Mbarara district. His campaign has had a tremendous impact on pu
THE HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Kitgum district stands at 9% against the national average of 6%. Kitgum chairman Nahaman Ojwee said this was due to the insecurity in the district. Rebels and soldiers have frequently subjected young girls and women to rape, defilement, sexual abuse and exploitation, Ojwee said. In a
Despite Uganda s efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS prevalence in the last 10 years, and the introduction of anti-retroviral drugs on the market, it still remains a threat to the agricultural sector, agriculture minister Kisamba Mugerwa said yesterday, reports Richard Komakech. He called for a revised approach to the HIV/AIDS
FOR decades it has been an undeveloped parking yard with untidy grass. Now the same ground is set to renew the lives of thousands of Ugandan AIDS patients and sharpen the minds of hundreds of doctors from all over Africa, reports Charles Wendo. The US ambassador, Jimmy Kolker, yesterday shoved a spade into the earth fo
THE Family Planning Association of Uganda (FPAU) recently sensitised over 5,000 people in Kapchorwa district about its services, reports Rashid Muzungyo. The district FPAU project officer, Juliet Cheptoris, said the participants were sensitised on improving adolescent reproductive health and reduction of HIV/AIDS.
COMPANIES and organisations that have proper human resource practices in handling workers with HIV/AIDS, will be recognised on February 27 at the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) Employer of the Year Award 2002 dinner. The FUE executive director, Rosemary Ssenabulya, said on Thursday, this specific award will be sp
Traditional healers in Pallisa have been blamed for spreading HIV/AIDS by defiling and marrying girls whose parents fail to pay high treatment fees. The resident district commissioner, Geoffrey Kyomukama, recently said some healers imposed high fees on girls taken for treatment with the objective of marrying them when
THE manager of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis , and malaria, Mr. Toby Kasper, is in Uganda to discuss an impending grant. Kasper on Wednesday met the First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni , at State House Nakasero. A State House statement said Mrs. Museveni and Kasper discussed Uganda s fight against HIV/AIDS an
UGANDA will import about 120 million condoms this year. Health state minister in charge of general duties Capt. Mike Mukula, said this would help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Mukula, who was recently launching the sixth edition of Lok atyer kamaleng (Straight Talk) at
TWO women screened and confirmed to be part of the on-going HIV vaccine trial have dropped out. Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, the principal investigator of the trial, told The New Vision that the women dropped out before taking their first jab. The trial for the candidate vaccine code-named DNA-MVA kicked off on Monday. O
EXPECTANT or breast-feeding mothers in Masindi district who are HIV positive will receive free anti-retrovial drugs this year, reports Kyetume Kasanga. The district HIV/AIDS focal person, William Kajura, said the Ministry of Health had set aside an unspecified amount of money to provide the drugs for the first time in
World Vision Uganda and local authorities in Bunyole county in Tororo have signed a memorandum to run Phase II of Bunyole HIV/AIDS Project, reports Simon Peter Esaku. The phase, to run for three years, will cost sh533m (US$296,140) provided by Australia through the Australian Agency for International Development a
THE Irish Ambassador has commended Uganda s leaders for setting a positive trend in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Mairtin O Fainan said his government was happy to be part of the process, which he said had made Uganda a global example worth emulating. He was speaking at the signing of a sh6b (Euros 3m) programme-funding
THE first volunteer for Uganda s second HIV vaccine trial received the injection on Monday at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe, scientists have said. The volunteer, a 36-year-old man, received his first jab at 11:00 am. The second volunteer, a 28-year-old, received it yesterday. The experimental va
Wife sharing and inheritance of widows have immensely raised the spread of HIV/AIDS among the males in the country. An assistant commissioner in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Florence Ebanyat, said AIDS had claimed many lives of people due to indulgence in such cultural practices. In the western part of the country, some
Once a promising HIV/AIDS vaccine is found, Ugandans are willing to have it injected in them. Professor Fred Wabwire-Mangen, the principal investigator of the Walter Reed Research Collaborations in Uganda said that a study conducted in Rakai showed that people are anxiously waiting for the vaccine. The population in Ra
Imitating the European lifestyle has greatly contributed to the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS scourge in the country, reports John Nzinjah. Kasese district director of health services Dr. Peter Okwir said this while opening a three-day workshop on adolescent sexual reproductive health at Saad Hotel in Kasese town. Paren
Celtel Uganda yesterday announced a sh140m sponorship package to The Aids Support Organisation (TASO). This makes Celtel the single largest local donor to TASO Uganda after the Government. The money will be handed over in installments of sh20m every year over a period of seven years. The first cheque of sh20m was hande
The trial of HIV candidate vaccine code-named DNA-MVA, is to begin after a seven-month delay, writes Joan Mugenzi. Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, the principal investigator of the DNA-MVA vaccine, told journalists at a two-day media training workshop on AIDS and the AIDS vaccine in Kampala, that they hoped to start the trials s
Dr. Peter Mugyenyi sat next to US First Lady Laura Bush, as President George Bush urged legislators on Tuesday to allocate $10b more to curb AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. Bush was delivering the annual State of the Union address to the US House of Representatives, where he proposed an emergency AIDS relief plan to
A TOTAL of 10,000 people Living With Aids will be able to access free Anti retroviral (ARV) drugs by March, the ministry of health has said. Appearing before the HIV/AIDS committee of Parliament yesterday, a delegation from the ministry led by general duties state minister Capt. Mike Mukula said Uganda
THE European Union has commended blood donors for their contribution to the fight against AIDS in Uganda . The EU head of delegation, Sigurd Illing, said on Friday that Uganda was the only country that had succeeded in reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS to less than one third. Speaking at the inauguration of the fi
THE member of Parliament for Mawokota south in Mpigi district Henry Kityo has urged the government to consider introducing an HIV/AIDS tax to subsidise the high cost of anti-retroviral drugs. The anti-retroviral drugs are still very expensive and out of reach for the majority of Ugandans. One way of solving this proble
ARUA politicians have vowed to mobilise their people to fight HIV/AIDS. The district deputy speaker, Gloria Opiniya, said at the closure of a two-week seminar on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), that AIDS was a big problem that required urgent attention. The seminar was organised for health wo
AN agreement signed between the catholic diocese of Trenton and New Jersey, USA and the Kasana Diocese in Luweero is beginning to bear fruit. The Bishop of Kasana diocese, Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, said this recently while addressing lay leaders at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral. Lwanga, who had just returned from
LESS than 30,000 people in Uganda out of the slightly over one million with the HIV virus access Anti-Retroviral drugs, Danish MPs currently on a study tour, were told yesterday. The MPs also heard that although politicians here were telling the people to produce more children, the official policy of the Ministry of He
THE First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, has urged the youth not to use their right to freedom to engage in immoral acts like sexual promiscuity that may lead them to contracting HIV/AIDS and other acts that could lead them to jail. Joe Nam reports that Mrs. Museveni was speaking to thousands of youth who converged at Mand
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