Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - November 10, 2003
Sheila Gashishiri
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 will be labelled with numbers and not names.
The exercise, dubbed National HIV/AIDS Sero-survey, is expected to give a more accurate estimate of the numbers and percentages of Ugandans living with HIV. In recent years, critics have disputed Uganda's HIV figures, saying they were only obtained from pregnant women and not the general population.
Musinguzi said the survey will entail taking a blood sample from people's veins. The blood will also be tested for Syphilis, Herpes Simplex Virus-2 and Hepatitis B.
People will also be asked about their sexual behaviour, knowledge and attitude about HIV/AIDS. The questionnaire will also have questions concerning people's attitude towards caring for the sick.
The people to be tested will be selected by random sampling, and requested for their consent before the tests are done. "The respondents will be thoroughly educated and informed of the objectives and advantages of the exercise before being requested to participate," said Musinguzi.
The exercise is going to be on a voluntary basis, to ensure that the rights of individuals are not violated. Those who agree will sign a consent form before being tested and interviewed.
Participants who wish to know their HIV status can record their code numbers then ask for the results. The field team will also give free treatment to anybody found with syphilis.
About 30,000 people will be tested countrywide. The sampling will be done carefully to ensure that the results represent the national situation.
An age group of between 15-59 years and 0-5 years of age are eligible candidates for this exercise. The survey will be gender indiscriminate. The age group of 5-15 years has been left out deliberately because there are very few HIV positive cases in this group.
The exercise is scheduled to take place between March and June next year.
Musinguzi confirmed that the protocol has been finalised and will be handed over to the Institutional Review Board to assess the science and ethics of the proposal.
The Ministry of Health will implement the survey with the support of the United States Agency for International Development, Centres for Disease Control and World Health Organisation. Others are the United Nations AIDS programme, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund and the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics.
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