There is a face whichever way you turn. Faces that expose untold issues at the heart of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It could be a hospitalised mother with severe diarrhoea. She had been breastfeeding her baby when she tested HIV positive. With counselling, she began finding her way forward. Again, it could be Asumpta, who h
The commission of inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the Global Fund yesterday grilled Lucien Tibaruha, the solicitor general, for receiving sh60m for the justice ministry, banking it and not spending it on HIV/AIDS activities. The commission heard that the ministry got the money in April from the Project Manage
THE Mildmay Centre needs sh330m to provide free non-antiretroviral treatment to HIV-positive children with opportunistic diseases, a quarterly report has revealed. In the quarterly report, Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, the centre s director, said the money was required to cover the year ending March 2006. He said the number o
A MAN who recently fell in love with a widow whose husband had died a year earlier of AIDS saw his two wives flee when they learnt that their husband had made the widow pregnant. Baligeya of Butemera had secretly fallen in love with Janet, the widow, and all was going well until Baligeya neglected her, citing unnamed r
KUMI district has been granted US$645,000 (about sh1.2b) from US President George Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa to fight HIV/AIDS for one year (2005-2006). The grant is not linked to the controversial Global Fund. The district director of health services, Dr. Felix Ocom, said in Kumi recently that the
THE commission of inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the Global Fund heard that the Ministry of Health hired a private firm, Acclaim Consultancy, to operate an account on its behalf. Dr. Elizabeth Madraa, the director of the Aids Control Programme (ACP), said she did know the individuals or government department
The commission of inquiry into the mismanagement of Global Fund money yesterday heard that Mildmay Jajja s Home received sh1.2b without signing any contract agreement with the Ministry of Health and the Global Fund Project management Unit (PMU). Stella Nabatanzi, the director of finance at Mildmay, said they submitted
BUSOGA Rural Open Source and Development Initiative (BROSDI) has opened the first information and resource centre in Mayuge district. The sh40m centre, with internet and computer facilities, is in Waina village, Baitambogwe sub-county. Officiating at the launch on Friday, BROSDI board chairman Vincent Waiswa Bagiire sa
UGANDA will become the first African country to manufacture and export Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) by mid-2006, the Government has said. The drugs increase the life expectancy of people who have tested positive to HIV and enables them to live a near-to-normal life. Quality Chemicals Ltd, a leading distributor of life
THE ministry of health has purchased a machine to test the quality of condoms. The ministry s AIDS control programme manager, Dr. Elizabeth Madraa, on Thursday said all procured condoms would be tested before distribution. The condom testing machine has been purchased and it is now at the airport. We want to ensure tha
THE German Development Cooperation (GTZ) has donated 600 Rocket Lorena stoves worth sh14m to people living with HIV/AIDS, reports Fred Ouma. The stoves, made of clay, cement and sand, are an improved version with high heat retention and produce less smoke. The stoves can use either firewood or charcoal. GTZ, through th
THE rate of HIV infection in the Ugandan population has stagnated at 6.5 per cent and is no longer going down. Uganda has been praised globally for bringing prevalence down from its peak of 18 per cent in the late 1980s. But has the HIV campaign in Uganda now run out of steam? Indeed HIV infection may have started to i
THE HIV prevalence rate has stagnated at about 6.5% over the last three years, according to the 2005 Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey. However, there has been a subtle increase in HIV between 2002 and 2005 in nine antenatal clinics around the country, but six have gone down. Dr. Alex Opio, the assistant commissioner in the
YOUNG Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) has been airing a radio serial drama, Rock Point 256, throughout the country on various radio stations in several languages. This radio drama, which was launched in July this year, was designed to help reduce HIV/AIDS among young people. The weekly radio serial drama airs on nine radi
Work harder AFRICA – The continent is making little headway against AIDS despite wider availability of life-prolonging drugs, the United Nations said. A drive to bring AIDS-fighting anti-retroviral drugs had scored success, according to UNAIDS , with major distributions under way in many countries. But although some 70
Busia district LC5 chairman Stephen Wanyama Oundo has vowed to take back the NRM party card and stand as an independent candidate in next year s LC5 elections. If Barasa Ogajo, the district NRM chairman, wants me to take back his card, I am ready to do so but I have to take part in next year s elections as an independe
BEING HIV-positive is not the same as being in the Urban Hit Squad. Unlike the former, the latter can easily change to another uniform. However, the good news is that it is no longer a death sentence. If you play by the rules, you can live long enough to see Museveni retire in 2015. The bad news is that you may have th
SEPTRIUN is a wonder drug which, when taken daily, gives tremendous relief to and prolongs the life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). It prevents common HIV-related illnesses of the chest, diarrhoea, middle ear infection, urinary tract infection, gonorrhoea and malaria. It also reduces the risk of pneumonia and i
KAMPALA woman MP Margaret Nantongo Zziwa has cautioned the government not to become complacent in its efforts to fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She said the rate of new infections for HIV/AIDS was on the increase, because most people had became content with Uganda s success story in the fight against the pandemic
EMMANUEL Cardinal Wamala has called for sharing of HIV/AIDS information to create awareness and reduce the scourge, reports Chris Kiwawulo. Those who have trained in handling HIV patients should share the information with other members of the public upon finishing their courses, Wamala said. He said this during a visit
THE Rt. Rev. Adrian Kivumbi Ddungu of Masaka diocese has asked secular leaders to respect the social teaching of the Catholic Church, reports Mathias Mazinga. He lashed out at condom agitators, saying they were frustrating the church s efforts to defend the people from HIV/AIDS. We always get critics, who attack us and
Septrin is a wonder drug which, when taken daily, gives tremendous relief to and prolongs the life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The director of clinical services at Mildmay Centre, Dr Emmanuel Luyirika, says Septrin prevents common HIV-related illnesses and opportunistic infections of the chest, diarrhoea an
A graduate from Mbarara University of Science and Technology recently scooped a science award during the scientific conference at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole. Emmanuel Azore, a graduate of medical laboratory sciences, beat 28 entrants to win the 23rd Scientific Kerchan Award, an annual scientific award. The foun
MUSIC is known to touch everybody. We love it, we live it. And for this reason, the IMF Productions is out to fight the HIV/AIDS scourge among the youth through music, dance and drama. IMF is part of Burning Forest Entertainment, a local entertainment company, which has an array of singers, dancers and actors. On Thurs
STATE minister for health Capt. Mike Mukula has warned traditional healers against misleading the public on HIV/AIDS treatment. Our healers have the wisdom for better and effective medicine but I warn those who claim they have the medicine to cure AIDS, Mukula said. Speaking on Saturday at the commissioning of 50 tradi
THE UN food agency (WFP) programme to feed HIV/AIDS patients in Adjumani district has been launched. The first deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Lt. Gen. Moses Ali, launched the Food for Health programme on Thursday at celebrations to mark World AIDS Day at Adjumani Hospital. Ali praised WFP
THE commissioner for primary teacher education, Margaret Ochen, has asked teachers to prohibit NGOs which distribute condoms to pupils without permission from the education ministry. I would like you teachers to prohibit any NGO which wants to distribute condoms to pupils in your various schools against entering your p
UNITED States has donated US$100,000 (about sh180m) to the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa (AMICAALL), Uganda Chapter, to support orphans and other vulnerable children. AMICAALL co-ordinator Dr. John Mugisa said the fund would be shared among four of the implementing centres in Kampala, B
STATE minister for international relations Henry Okello Oryem has advised HIV/AIDS stakeholders to unite and reduce the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in internally displaced persons camps in the north. We should stop bickering and sensitise the masses on how to fight HIV/AIDS and to live positive with the disease. The pr
Makerere University Institute of Public Health (MUIPH) has chosen Dr. George Didi Bhoka from Arua Hospital for this year s Dr. Matthew Lukwiya Award. Lukwiya was the head of Lacor Hospital in Gulu when an Ebola epidemic struck during 2000. He died of the viral disease while treating the patients, after many other medic
RAKAI acting Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Lt. Kagulire has asked district leaders to stop inviting drama groups to the Aids day celebrations. Kagulire said he was irked by the dancing and singing done on the day while people remembered relatives who died at the hands of the disease. Speaking at the Aids day cel
Several local leaders have adopted President Yoweri Museveni s zeal in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda , Kampala mayor John Ssebaana Kizito has said. We took it upon ourselves to follow in the footsteps of the President to do something to assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS by mobilising and sensitising the commu
OVER 40 children living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda on Tuesday turned up for live videoconference at the Uganda Management Institute, challenging developed countries to tackle HIV/AIDS epidemic in developing countries. In a distressing indictment, children cited care and treatment as key factors in the management of HIV/AI
HIV activist Angella Wapakabulo recently awarded certificates to over 90 peer educators who successfully completed courses in HIV/AIDS education. The newly-graduated vendors will sensitise their colleagues on controlling the spread of the epidemic and try to bring an end to the stigma surrounding people living with HIV
THE health ministry is to re-launch a comprehensive ABC strategy following threats that HIV/AIDS infections might explode reversing the country s success against the epidemic. Uganda is one of the African countries credited with reducing the HIV prevalence rate from about 15% in the early 1990s to about 7% today. The s
Housing state minister Francis Babu has condemned the use of condoms as a preventive measure against HIV/AIDS, saying it had instead increased the spread of the epidemic. Babu also asked the youth to abstain from sex until they are ready to marry and be faithful to their partners. Speaking at the AIDS day celebrations
I cannot say Happy World AIDS Day today because there is nothing happy about AIDS. It is so difficult to communicate relevantly to people who put faith in relationships only to harvest death and destruction. It is very frustrating to give a person everything emotionally, sexually and spiritually, only to discover later
SCHOOL administrators should intensify music and drama activities to convey messages about HIV/AIDS, the executive director of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) has said. Dr. Alex Coutinho said, If the pupils are given such important messages on diseases like HIV/AIDS, they will pass them on to the parents and other
THE New Vision and the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa (AMICAALL) have donated items to war-affected communities in the north, reports Mariam Nalunkuuma. The items, including clothes, foodstuff, beddings, shoes, scholastic material and domestic utensils, will today be handed over to the b
The advent of Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and better HIV management has made it easier for people who feared the test to know their status. Benefits of testing According to Dr Mpango Lydia of International Medical Centre, ignorance of your HIV status is risky. If infected, the disease can advance undiagnosed, compro
According to Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika of Mildmay centre, HIV enters the body through sex, mother to child, blood, and sharing sharps. It then invades the body defence cells (CD4) to multiply. Outwardly, the person will not be aware of what is happening. The window period is the time it takes for a person who has been infe
BARCLAYS Bank has launched a HIV/AIDS sensitisation week to encourage employee participation in community initiatives that fight the disease. Nick Mbuvi, the bank s managing director, said it was important for organisations like Barclays to fight HIV beyond the company to ensure that the society, which gives them busin
THE Rotary Club of Kampala North has awarded Agnes nyamayarwo, a nurse-turned-AIDS activist and Enid Mwebaze rwanbkore, a senior nurse at Mulago Hospital, for their outstanding contribution to the country. Speaking on Monday at the awarding ceremony at Nommo Gallery in Nakesero, club chairman Herbert muhumuza said the
President Yoweri Museveni should establish a private clinic for top government officials and the elite who shy away from ordinary health facilities to seek for HIV/Aids testing, counselling and treatment, an official has said. Former premier and presidential adviser on HIV/AIDS Kintu Musoke said many high profile peopl
DISCRIMINATION against employees with HIV/AIDS is still rampant in our society today. Barclays Bank kick- started a campaign against such discrimination recently. The initiative was announced at the bank s head office during a press conference. In attendance were partners in the AIDS fight including Dr. Ian Clarke of I
A total of 14,000 children die each year due to AIDS in Uganda , the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) has said. Unicef country representative Martin mogwanja said about 40 children acquire the virus daily with one child dying every hour. He said mother-to-child transmission was responsible for 25,000 HIV- positi
MIGADDE College emerged victorious at the finals of the three-day long 2005 Power FM Inter School drama and writing competitions. Ntinda View College and Lubiri SSS came second and third respectively. The competitions were aimed at creating more awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The best actor was from Lubiri SS
MBARARA resident district commissioner (RDC) Clement Kandole has cautioned the youth against misuse of modern technology, saying it was likely to lead them into early sexual behaviour, reports Kyomuhendo Muhanga. Quite a big number of youth go on the Internet to surf for pornography. What happens after one has seen wha
UGANDA has registered a decline in HIV/AIDS infection, the annual report by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organisation said on Monday. Uganda was also commended for access to treatment with more than one third of people in need receiving ARVs in mid-2005, the best coverage in sub-Saharan
THERE are over two million children in manual labour in Uganda , with 80% under domestic labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) chief technical advisor has said. Yuki Nose was on Monday addressing a workshop for child labour stakeholders, who included teachers, Police officers and district officials from M
A prison health official has asked the Government and the donor community to boost the diet of prisoners living with HIV/AIDS, reports Flavia Nakagwa. The acting director of the prisons health service, Dr. Alex Kakoraki, on Monday said there was need to lift the nutritional status for such people in order to improve th
A LEADING scientist has said Uganda s success in the fight against the HIV epidemic could be short-lived if more innovative strategies are not adopted in time to contain the high prevalence. Dr. John Rwomushana, the director of research and policy at the Uganda AIDS Commission, said the ABC strategy, which began as par
FOR one month, Aidchild Gallery at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel will run Nafha Maani-Ebrahimi and Fred Kizito Kakinda s joint exhibition to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The exhibition started on Thursday, November 10. Nafha Maani-Ebrahimi s jewellery mixes materials from different places, making a supercilious expr
THE US embassy has donated sh25m to support the poultry and livestock projects for HIV/AIDS-affected families in Masaka, reports Dismus Buregyeya. The projects were identified by the Uganda Muslim Women Tabliqs desk and the Uganda Muslim women Empowerment Initiative in Masaka. The US deputy Chief of Missions, Fitzer
MAJOR Rubaramira Ruranga of the national guidance and empowerment network and Pastor Martin Ssempa of the global centre for Uganda s ABC strategy are to feature on a new video on how ABC strategy has impacted on HIV/AIDS. The film will share information on the unspoken roles, taboos and power in the HIV/AIDS arena.
ABOUT 66.8% of men in Mukono district don t use condoms despite their free distribution, a study has revealed. The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) in collaboration with the District Directorate of Health Service carried out the survey last year. Launching the report at a one-day HIV/AIDS workshop held at Mukono Community
THE United Kingdom ’s Department of international development (DFID) has given a grant of sh1.2b to women living with HIV. The fund, to be channelled through the National Community of Women Living With AIDS (NACWOLA) and Interact Worldwide, was launched on Friday. NACWOLA promotes positive living among women living wit
THE Uganda Bikers Association (UBA) on Friday donated sh17m to Mbuya parish Reach Out project to support 85 school-going orphans for a year. The association’s outgoing chairman, Bernard Runnebaum, said UBA aimed at promoting the enjoyment of owning and riding motorcycles and had a mission to support less fortunate peop
A sh200m project to protect the youth from HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy has been launched in northern Uganda . The Young Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) project in partnership with Save the Children launched the one-and-a-half year programme on Thursday, targeting over 200,000 youth. YEAH is a national multi-channel i
THE prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Katakwi district has increased from nine to 21% since IDP camps were established last year, the state minister for northern Uganda rehabilitation has said. Dan nSalasatta reports that Grace Akello said the increase was caused by the lifestyle in the internally displaced people s (IDPs) cam
THE Global Fund Secretariat yesterday lifted a suspension it had slapped on Aids, tuberculosis and malaria grants to Uganda three months ago. The lifting of the suspension, which takes immediate effect, will see US$360m that had been withheld in Geneva flow into the country to add power to the campaign against the thre
OVER 200,000 Ugandans living with HIV are to receive basic preventive care kits over the next five years from US President George Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Developed by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with Uganda s health ministry, The AIDS Support Organisation (T
YOU are pregnant! Praise God. The whole family is excited. You don t want anything to go wrong. But it does! You are HIV positive and your husband is too! The idea of killing your own child haunts you, so does the fact that your property will be inherited by foreigners and your name will die forever! Alice Bakunda, a p
A US-BASED Christian organisation has donated wheelchairs to people with disability in the eastern region. The chairman of born-again churches in Uganda , Apostle Alex Mitala, said the organisation s vision was to ensure that every crawling person in the world gets a wheelchair. The Free Wheelchair Mission aims at
WASHINGTON - US health officials have granted tentative approval to a generic form of GlaxoSmithKline Plc s oral AIDS drug, zidovudine, for use in President Bush s emergency relief plan to help fight the disease (PEPFAR). The drug, made by India-based drugmaker, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, is the latest in a string of approv
DESPITE a worrying population growth rate, Uganda has recorded impressive progress in human development, the 2005 Uganda Human Development Report has said. The report titled, Linking Environment to Human Development; A Deliberate Choice, was released yesterday. It attributes the progress to improvement in literacy leve
CONFLICTS, especially in the north, have retarded the country s development and exacerbated HIV/AIDS, the disaster preparedness state minister has said. In a statement at the opening of a workshop on the role of civil society and the private sector in the COMESA peace and security programme at Hotel Africana yesterday,
THE procurement advisor of the embattled Global Fund s Project Management Unit has admitted that the suspended unit violated procurement regulations in the purchase of computers and other IT equipment as alleged by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Dr. Pitto Jjemba, the 16th witness appearing for the 3rd day, yesterday confessed
The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), with support from Pfizer Inc, opened a new AIDS counselling and training centre in Mbarara recently to serve some of the 50,000 clients. The US$700,000 (sh1.2b) centre, also funded by Pfizer, the world s largest research based pharmaceutical company, is the second of four TASO regi
THE inquiry into the mismanagement of the Global Fund yesterday started scrutinising contracts cited in the audit report of PriceWaterHouse Coopers as containing irregularities. The commission, chaired by Justice James Ogoola, questioned how Gulf Africa, a supplier of only computer accessories, was short-listed to supp
UNICEF country representative Martin Mogwanja has called upon men to join the fight against HIV/AIDS, writes Flavia Nakagwa. The fight against HIV/AIDS is not only for women but also men, therefore both men and women need to come together to address this issue because there are many roles that men can play, Mogwanja sa
DOCTOR John Kayongo Mutumba told the commission of inquiry into the Global Fund that the Ministry of Health improperly disqualified him from heading the project despite being the best candidate in the interviews. Mutumba, who appeared before the commission probing alleged mismanagement of the fund, said he was seeking
DONORS have called for strong action against any one guilty of mismanaging the Global Fund for AIDs. In a joint statement read by the Swedish ambassador to Uganda , Erik Aberg, at a health review workshop at Munyonyo on Thursday, donors said after the investigations, culprits should be handed over to the Inspector Gene
In a world where 33 million people are living with HIV, it is hard not to feel part of this devastating pandemic. And with 23 million of these living in sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS problem becomes even more real. Yet we somehow brush it off and behave as if AIDS were not here with us. The stigma, indifference and
THE Project management Unit (PMU), which is being investigated for mismanaging the Global Fund on AIDS, was pinned yesterday for flouting procurement rules in the purchase of HIV/AIDS test kits. The health ministry gave wrong specifications for the supply of HIV/AIDS rapid test kits worth $540,000 (sh1.3b) and also sai
INTERVIEW: President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday night was hosted on Sky News TV live programme, World News Tonight in London Q: Your country has made enormous strides in reducing over ten years prevalence of AIDS, 15% down to 6% in the last couple of years. A: AIDS is not very infectious. You don t get it through hands
NATIONAL Political Commissar (NPC) Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, who chaired the founding committee of the Global Fund on Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, yesterday told the commission investigating it s mismanagement that three ministers were not supposed to use the fund for supervision work. Kiyonga said the fund was designed
THE decision by the Global Fund to suspend grants on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to Uganda was done hurriedly and out of anger, the state minister for primary healthcare has said. Speaking at the joint government/donor health sector strategic plan review at Speke Resort, Munyonyo, Dr. Alex Kamugisha said the sus
The Abstinence Be Faithful and Condom (ABC) approach has received many supporters in the media, but a number of writers have embarked on a campaign to present the worst form of biased information against Abstinence and Be Faithful (A&B) approach. The ABC campaign is a moral issue and, despite our arguments, we cann
THE Government and implementers of its policies have been told to include matters affecting persons with disabilities (PWDs) in its programmes, especially HIV/AIDS prevention. MP James Mwandha (PWDs Eastern) said during a press conference at the National Theatre recently that special assistance devices for PWDs were di
FIRST Lady Janet Museveni has appealed to the youth to abstain from pre-marital sex, writes Vision Reporter. Mrs Museveni also said it was incorrect for those opposed to the promotion of abstinence to regard it as impractical and a danger to the youth. She was on Wednesday addressing hundreds of students of St. Lawrenc
THE availability of Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs for treatment of HIV/AIDS should not become an excuse for people to become promiscuous, President Yoweri Museveni has said, writes Raymond Baguma. Museveni said, Do not hear that ARVs have come and you go on rampage. Experts have told us ARVs only reduce the virus in the
UGANDA has run out of drugs for tuberculosis (TB), the commission of inquiry investigating mismanagement of the Global Fund on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, has heard. The probe, chaired by Principal Judge James Ogoola, on Wednesday heard that the suspension of the Global Fund grants to Uganda was already having adver
CHURCHES are negating the distribution of antiretroviral drugs to people living with HIV/AIDS, saying Jesus will heal them, the director of kamwokya Christian Caring community (KCCC), Francis Mbazira, said on Tuesday. He asked the Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) to address the issue. Pentecostal churches are frustrat
There was a running row between Uganda and the Global Fund Secretariat over procurement of drugs, before suspension of the HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria grants. Former Director General of Health Services Prof. Francis Omaswa told a commission probing the suspension that the Secretariat wanted to impose drugs that had not be
THE AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), with support from Pfizer Inc, opened a new AIDS counselling and training centre in Mbarara district on Friday to serve part of the organisation s 50,000 registered clients. The $700,000 (sh1.2b) centre, half of which was funded by Pfizer, the world s largest research-based pharmace
China s health ministry on Friday reported a 42 per cent rise in the number of HIV infections, with a campaign to test rural residents who sold their blood in the 1990s believed to be a major factor behind the sharp rise. Health departments in China had reported a cumulative total of 126,808 HIV infections, including 2
AS Ugandans commemorated the late Philly Bongoley Lutaaya Day yesterday, smiles and relief filled the faces of patients admitted at St. Gonzaga ward in nsambya Hospital and others at Buyinja zone in Kabalagala in Kampala. To the many who are bed-ridden with HIV/AIDS, a tray of eggs, a roll of toilet tissue, a bar of so
POLITICIANS, businessmen and scholars from Kabale have unveiled an ambitious project to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS and malaria in the district. The project that will start with construction of a sh233m resource centre in the Northern Division of Kabale municipality was launched on Saturday at a fundraising dinner at Hotel
THE US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) has provided US$3m to Hospice Africa ( Uganda ) to expand access to comprehensive palliative care services to people living with HIV/AIDS, reports Mariam Nalunkuuma. The grant is to enable Hospice Africa to build capacity of private and public sector Ugandan AI
The two-year-old Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Mulago hospital is in an expansion drive estimated at US$2.93m to handle the local and international demand. The Pfizer-funded IDI, which belongs to Makerere University Medical School, handles mostly HIV/AIDS and other related infectious diseases. Construction of
HIS first name means love. The second name means flourishing. But Fikru Abebe s childhood is a contrast of his name. He started school at the age of 13, after toiling as a child labourer on a farm. Five decades later, he is helping children across the globe to avoid going through his childhood woes. Nine weeks in
Families of people living with HIV/AIDS need a common fund to tackle their daily needs, the programme manager of Christian Children s Fund (CCF), Joseph Ssemujju, has said, reports Abubaker Mukose. He was touring CCF-funded projects in Jinja on Wednesday. CCF chief for Ethiopia , Kenya
Photographic exhibitions have frequently been used to raise awareness on a number of issues, writes Emmanuel Ssejjengo. Positive Lives in partnership with ActionAid International Uganda , have set up a project to change the face of HIV/AIDS through such an exhibition. The pieces are to be drawn from an archive of over
WORLD Vision has constructed two health centres and sanitation facilities worth over sh1b in Nakasongola district. World Vision Uganda national project coordinator Fortunate ssewankambo said the facilities included two medical staff houses, rainwater tanks, 14 boreholes and 10 valley tanks. She said this at the com
THE commission of inquiry into mismanagement of the Global Fund on Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) is going to publish a list of all sub-recipients of the grant. The commission wants the intended beneficiaries of GFATM-funded projects to see the list and provide evidence on whether the money was properly used, th
Armed with a small handbag in one hand, Joyce Twase quietly walked around the bush, picking small leaves off tiny plants as she stocks them inside her bag. In a few minutes, the bag is full and slowly, she heads for her home. Twase is not a traditional healer, but a trained herbal medicine woman, who goes about the bus
THE suspension of the Global Fund s five grants to Uganda remains, Jon Liden, the Fund s spokesperson, said yesterday, writes Vision Reporter. Liden, the Fund s head of communication, said the Sunday Vision story that the suspension had been lifted was not true. The paper quoted health minister Major General Jim Muhwez
KYADDONDO - South MP Issa Kikungwe has said his censure motion against health minister Jim Muhwezi failed because some of his colleagues benefited from the Global Fund grant. It is shocking that MPs are encouraging thuggery. Some benefited from the Global Fund. That is why they chickened out when it came to being count
HIV cocktail drugs work HIV/AIDS -- Cocktails of anti-AIDS drugs cut the rate of progression from infection with HIV to full-blown AIDS by 86% compared to patients not receiving any treatment, British researchers said. They found that the effectiveness of Antiretroviral therapy (ART), a combination of at least three tr
UGANDA has been selected alongside nine other African countries to host a UN millennium research village project. The other countries are Senegal , Ethiopia , Mali , Ghana , Nigeria , Kenya ,
Health insurance is taking shape in Uganda again after a decade, a development experts think will make private healthcare affordable to many. A new government legislation and private players are reviving the scheme, which collapsed with Pan World Insurance Company about seven years ago. Health insurance policies a
Three hundred children out of the 700 who were recently tested for HIV/AIDS in Gulu were found positive, the medical officer at Gulu regional referral hospital, Dr. Geoffery Openy-thoo, has said. Openythoo said this on Saturday at a workshop organised by Health Alert Uganda , an NGO operating in Gulu district. He s
Muslim leaders want sexual reproductive health education in Muslim-founded schools, writes Mariam Nalunkuuma. The leaders, led by Uganda Muslim Supreme Council sharia director Sheikh Mahdi Kakooza, said, To fight HIV/AIDS among the youth, sexual reproductive health education should be introduced in our schools. Ka
THE change in Uganda s anti-HIV/AIDS campaign strategy to emphasise abstinence, particularly among students, has drawn criticisms from a cross section of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other international agencies and human rights groups. Critics say the three-pronged approach of Abstinence, Be faithful and
MUKONO Diocese Bishop Eriya Paul Luzinda has cautioned girls and married women against hugging men after church services. Some of these men are not interested in just hugging you, but seducing you. Before you realise it, you have already fallen prey to them, he said. He urged youth, especially girls, to abstain from pr
The Global Fund International Board meets this week in Geneva, Switzerland to review the suspension of AIDS grants to Uganda . Health minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi, who left for Geneva on Friday, is expected to defend Uganda s position at the board s 11th meeting due on September 28-30. The Global Fund to fight AI
THE Government has asked the Auditor General (AG) to carry out inquiries into the Global Fund on HIV/AIDs, TB and Malaria. Health state minister Mike Mukula said this showed that the government was transparent and would punish the culprits. Mukula was on Friday closing a two-day workshop on recruitment guidelines for h
THE US Congressional caucus on Uganda chief, Chris Smith, has backed the removal of presidential term limits, describing it as free democratic practice, reports Henry Mukasa. Smith, a member of President George Bush s Republican Party representing New Jersey, made the remarks while chairing a caucus meeting that hosted
THREE Norwegian MPs have visited Mbarara to study the sexual and reproductive health issues among youth in the district, reports Raymond Baguma. The head of the delegation, Britt Hildeng, said they wanted to increase their focus on Africa. We are in Mbarara to see what is needed. The study tour has been informative. We
GULU Youth Centre (GYC), one of Straight Talk Foundation s projects, recently donated 30 bicycles to peer educators in Gulu district during a colourful function, reports Justin Moro. The centre manager, Dennis Kibwola, said over 200 peer educators had been trained in the three displaced people s camps of Pabbo, Bobi an
OVER 400 youth from Uganda and the United States have vowed to remain virgins till marriage. A State House statement said the youth made the resolution at a balokole (born-again Christians) function at Capitol Hill, the seat of the American government, on Tuesday. President Yoweri Museveni, who was chief guest, adv
US ambassador Jimmy Kolker has described as irresponsible people who mismanaged the Global fund, leading to its suspension in Uganda . He, however, hoped the fund would be quickly reinstated to help people living with HIV/AIDS access ARV drugs. He urged people to join hands in fighting the epidemic. Authorities sh
Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi was censured in 1998 over abuse of office, writes Joshua Kato. He bounced back as minister. Members of Parliament are now baying for his blood over mismanagement of the Global Fund for AIDS. Will he survive this time round? Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi is like the legendary cowboy. A cowboy never dies. I
UGANDA is to demand for the immediate extradition of rebel leader Joseph Kony and the remnants of his Lord s Resistance Army who recently crossed from Sudan into the Democratic Republic of Congo. President Yoweri Museveni said this yesterday while meeting two former US ambassadors to Ug
President Yoweri Museveni is in New York for the 60th UN General Assembly and UN Millenium Review Summit. Last Friday, he addressed the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly. Below is his speech I greet all of you on behalf of the people of Uganda . We salute this assembly for agreeing on the Millennium
Regional lab opens FORT PORTAL - US has provided over $200m (sh350bn) to Uganda to rapidly expand HIV/AIDS programs for prevention, care and treatment programs during the 2004/05 financial year. Ms Margot Ellis, Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was opening the Regional Laboratory C
The damning report on how the Global fund monies for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was mismanaged, has triggered a set of actions that have further lowered the perception of this country and dented some hard earned reputations. A probe by the government into the allegations contained in accounting firm, Pricewaterhous
THE commission investigating the mismanagement of the Global Fund on AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria will this week probe grassroot NGOs which received the money, writes Vision Reporter. The five-member commission, headed by Principal Judge James Ogoola, will split into five teams, each heading for a particular region,
The commissioner for Secondary Education Yusuf Nsubuga has urged community leaders to establish bi-laws, which prevent holidaymakers from going to video halls. He said during holidays, many youth get addicted to watching pornography in video halls and engage in risky behaviour that can lead to HIV/AIDS. When the youth
THE abstinence campaign at Mengo Secondary School recently generated a heated debate among students as to whether abstinence was a reality. The campaign organised by Power Fm under the theme Is abstinence a reality saw most students saying abstinence was the surest way to stay safe from HIV/AIDS and other sexually tran
TO emphasise condoms as central to Uganda s HIV/AIDS strategy, the Government is to import 154 million condoms in the next two months. The health ministry says HIV/AIDS prevalence in Uganda is at 7%. In this regard, 60 million condoms have been circulated in the country. This represents a six-month consumption. A consi
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has asked UNICEF to mobilise funds for post-primary education of HIV/AIDS orphans, writes Vision Reporter. Museveni made the appeal on Wednesday while meeting the executive director of the UN children s agency, Ann Veneman, who called on him at Uganda House in New York. The President is in
MILDMAY Centre has stopped distributing antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to new clients, citing lack of funds following the withdrawal of the Global Fund grants, reports Patrick Jaramogi. The centre, located on Entebbe Road, provides HIV/AIDS care and training. Mildmay out-going director Derrick Atkins on Wednesday said, A
ARVs are Anti-Retro Viral drugs and the treatment is Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART). How do they work? According to Dr Lilliane Nabiddo of Mildmay Centre, the immune system of the body has CD4 cells, which are like soldiers defending a country. HIV is an enemy, which attacks the body and eats up the soldiers (CD4 cells)
YOUR viral load is zero. It means you no longer have the HIV virus in your blood. The drugs have cleared it. This is the best result, Dr Godfrey Kabuye of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) announced. This was the greatest news I have ever received. I was diagnosed with HIV virus three years ago and subsequentl
FIFTY percent of internally displaced persons in Lira district have no knowledge about HIV/-AIDS, the parliamentary public accounts committee has revealed. A preliminary report read to Lira district officials and stakeholders of HIV/AIDS at the district chamber on Saturday indicated that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the di
DEFENDING champion Ahmed Khuram will put his title on line when the HIV/AIDS squash open gets underway on Monday at Kampala Club. The second edition of the event was launched yesterday in Kampala by Uganda Squash Rackets Association (USRA) vice chairman Gus Lusiba and Guenter Schroeter, chief technical advisor, Program
Drug reinstated INTERNATIONAL - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reinstated seven generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that had previously been removed from the list of pre-qualified medicines. It has also approved three new types of ARV drugs for use in the treatment against HIV/AIDS. The generic drugs, which are
CIVIL servants who have suffered discrimination based on their HIV/AIDS status should channel their complaints to the respective permanent secretaries, the commissioner for secondary education, Yusuf Nsubuga, has said. Nsubuga said discrimination of employees living with HIV/AIDS was rampant at the lower levels of admi
Despite the decline in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Uganda and other African countries, the epidemic remains a serious burden and the best measure to avert more human disasters is a vaccine, the Vice-President has said. Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, in Montreal, Canada , where he delivered a key note address on
THE Government may not ban Engabu condoms despite the health ministry s decision to recall batches of defective condoms of the brand, an official has said. About 30 million Engabu condoms have been tested and found to be good. We shall have to convince the public to use them. It s only the batches containing defective
THE AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Gulu regional centre has embarked on training district stakeholders on HIV/AIDS as part of their advocacy activities at the centre. At least 30 religious leaders, cultural leaders and the business communities have received training. The regional TASO manager northern, David Wakoko,
TWELVE-year-old Josephine Nabukenya, who is living with HIV/AIDS, will today address the United States Congress and implore the legislators and other government officials to do more to help children living with AIDS grow up like other children. Ashley Wolfington, the spokesperson of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foun
MILDMAY Interna-tional Jajja s Children Home, an HIV/AIDS care and education project, has extended its services to five up-country districts. The vice-president Mildmay International, Ruth Sims, said her organisation received sh236m in the first batch and sh941 in the second from the Global Fund, since the inception of
TEACHERS unions from Uganda , Kenya , Tanzania and Ethiopia want their respective governments to integrate HIV/AIDS education in their education curricula. They said in Uganda, the biggest impact of HIV/AIDS, second to the military, is among teachers.
UGANDA is the only country in the east African region set to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the finance state minister, Isaac Musumba, said on Thursday. Launching the 2005 Human Development Report at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Musumba said having jumped two places to 144th position in the global ranki
A funeral recently turned into drama when a pastor only identified as Robert, was chased away by mourners in Napulu, Mbale district. Robert was accused of abandoning his mission and abusing the deceased. Clad in a white tunic and brown shoes, the pastor who looked every inch, a man of God, delved into the sermon as if
THE commission of inquiry which President Yoweri Museveni appointed to probe the mismanagement of the Global Fund money to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria was yesterday sworn-in to start its work. The acting Chief Registrar of the courts of Judicature, Lawrence Gidudu, administered the oath at a function held at S
THE Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) has started coordinating HIV education programmes for employees of its member firms. Over sh50m needed for the facilitation of the programme will be provided by the Global fund. UMA programme consultant Joseph Kyalimpa said, the programme is intended to remind the member firms
AIDS advocacy groups on Friday demanded the abolition of taxes on condoms and urged the government to ensure that they were affordable. Beatrice Weere from Action aid said the added cost and accessibility engenders serious ramifications on the HIV/AIDS prevention policy and the Government s attitude towards it. Joseph
The health ministry yesterday briefed envoys accredited to Uganda on steps the government had taken on the Global Fund saga. State minister Capt. Mike Mukula and top ministry officials met the envoys at the ministry headquarters. The envoys were led by the European Union envoy, Illing Sigurd. Present was Royal Dani
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS in Luweero district have complained that health workers put them on ARV treatment without considering their cell count because there are no cell count facilities in the district, writes Frederick Kiwanuka. They said at a workshop in Luweero last week that those who still looked healthy were
Following a sharp increase in the use of condoms, the health ministry is distributing 20 million emergency condoms, state minister Capt. Mike Mukula has said. He said the ministry had increased annual condom importation from 80 million to 120 million to meet the increasing demand. The country is not short of condoms. D
OVER 100 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are starving at an orphanage in Katooke sub-county, Kyenjojo district, reports Bizimungu Kisakye. These were the findings of a 17-man delegation that included pastors and youth from a UK-based Church, Eagle Christian Fellowship, on Saturday, when they visited the area to evaluate
HUNDREDS of makerere University students on Friday went to the streets to support abstinence in the fight against HIV/AIDS. They protested against claims of a condom crisis in Uganda made by Stephen Lewis of the UN special envoy on AIDS to Africa. The march, led by Pastor Martin Ssempa, started from the university main
THE tourism industry is particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of its unique and important service to the people, tourism state minister Jovino Ayumu, said recently, writes Patrick Jaramogi. Leisure and accommodation is a very important and equally risk prone service especially as regards to the spread of HIV/AIDS
AIDS advocacy groups have threatened to sue the government if it does not release the 30 million condoms in storage for sale or donation, by the end of September. Speaking at a press conference at the Regency Hotel in Kampala, the Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS) legal adviser for human righ
Children infected with HIV/AIDS have not accessed health services and ARVs due to lack of qualified staff in Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Kasese and Bundibugyo districts, Save the Children in Uganda has established. The report showed that service providers lacked counselling skills, Charles Wabwire, a Save the Children official
The judicial commission of inquiry into alleged mismanagement of the Global Fund on AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis is to investigate and publicise its findings within a month. The Government has said in spite of last week s suspension of the funds to Uganda , the supply of critical antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs, condoms
HEALTH state minister Capt. Mike Mukula has advised students in east Africa to say no to sex until they are married or use condoms only if they cannot abstain, reports Kyomuhendo Muhanga. Our East African stand in the fight against HIV/AIDS is apparently ‘abstain, be faithful or use a condom (ABC) . Understand the poli
THE media has been challenged to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS by reaching out and educating the masses using simple language. The director of research and policy development at the Uganda AIDS Commission, John Rwomushana, said journalists should translate the incomprehensible issues about HIV/AIDS into simple langua
THERE is a big fuss being kicked by all and sundry over the suspension of donor money to fight HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria by the UN s Global Fund, because of alleged mismanagement, corruption, fraud, poor accountability, and incompetence. It is indisputable that Uganda needs donor support, and irrespective of
GLOBAL Fund Chief of Operations Herbert Bradford has said he is confident that the management of the funds can still be brought back on track, reports Mary Karugaba. Bradford said that explains why the funds were suspended and not cancelled as was the case with Ukraine . Meeting MPs at Parliament yesterday, Bradford, a
THE Government has frozen the Global Fund accounts in Stanbic and dfcu banks until investigations into the suspended AIDS grants are over. Bradford Herbert, the Global Fund chief of operations, told a press conference at the end of his two-day visit that the government had stopped all the payments from the Global Fund
The army pharmaceutical company under the National Executive corporation (NEC) is to manufacture generic drugs. NEC managing director Lt. Col. Fred Mwesigye said the manufacture, which will begin with non-injectable anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), will start in December this year. He said the company would later manufact
The Aids Support Organisation (TASO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Arua regional referral hospital to work together to enhance HIV/AIDS services in the district. The two-year arrangement that ends in June 2007 was effected on Saturday. The hospital superintendent, Dr. Charles Olaro, project coordinator
A probe team from the Geneva-based Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria arrived yesterday and held a series of meetings with government officials to review conditions for resumption of AIDS grants suspended last week. The team was led by Bradford Herbert, the Fund s Chief of Operations. He is accompanied by Kr
THE Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria last week suspended its two year $200 million programme for Uganda . Last weekend Sunday Vision exclusively revealed details of the audit report about mismanagement by the Project Management Unit in the Ministry of Health that led to the suspension. However th
THE Government yesterday announced a four-member team to probe the alleged mismanagement of the Global Fund aid to Uganda by the project management unit (PMU) of the ministry of health. Principal Judge Justice James Ogoola heads the inquiry, whose other members are the Central Bank governor, Tumusime Mutebile, former C
AS investigations into the mismanagement of the Global Fund grants on AIDS continue, Uganda s stock of anti-retroviral drugs for children has run out, Ministry of Health officials have said. A crisis meeting of all health ministry heads of department and health state minister Mike Mukula was convened yesterday to discu
INABILITY to access antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment is partly responsible for the high mortality rate among children infected with HIV/IDS in Uganda , a report has said. The report presented at the recently-concluded Third International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Treatment and Pathogenesis in Rio de Janeiro,
ANTI-CORRUPTION Coalition Uganda (ACCU) has hailed the suspension of the Global Fund grants to fight AIDS, malaria and TB in Uganda, saying that it will help Uganda shape up in her use of the money. Addressing a press conference at their Kamwokya headquarters on Friday, the group s co-ordinator, Geoffrey Rwakabaale, sa
LAST week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria suspended grants to Uganda after a probe revealed gross mismanagement of its funds. The funds, accessed through the Ministry of Finance, are disbursed through the Project Management Unit (PMU) in the Ministry of Health. The Sunday Vision can now rev
THE suspension of the Global fund grants on Aids, malaria and tuberculosis will not halt the supply of antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs and condoms, Parliament heard yesterday. The public and Aids patients should not be alarmed over the suspension of these grants. The suspension is temporary and in the meantime, the supply
THE Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended grants worth billions of shillings to Uganda after an audit into the management of earlier monies came under suspicion. The fund said there was evidence of inappropriate expenditure and improper accounting a euphemism for corruption, in
THE government is to conduct an independent probe into the mismanagement of the Global Fund grants on Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis, the health minister said yesterday. During the weekly press briefing yesterday, Maj. Gen. Muhwezi said, The Government has decided to conduct its own investigation to find out if the fun
ONE thousand IDPs die every week in the Acholi sub-region, a preliminary analysis undertaken by the Government, UN agencies and NGOs said recently. Disaster preparedness state minister Christine Amongin Aporu told journalists at Entebbe Airport on Tuesday that malaria, HIV/AIDS and violence were the leading causes of d
PARLIAMENT is to probe the alleged mismanagement of HIV/AIDS funds that led to suspension of the Global fund support to Uganda . The committee on HIV/AIDS, would probe the alleged mismanagement of the funds, the chairperson, Dr. Eliode Tumwesigye (Shema North), said, as he appealed to the public to remain calm. Rep
Although Uganda has proved that it is championing the fight against HIV/AIDS, the challenge remains until the infection rate has dropped to zero, the information state minister has said. Dr. Nsaba Buturo was opening the 33rd Joint Clinical Research Centre clinic at Kisoro Hospital. He cautioned the Bafumbira that t
The Geneva-based Global Fund to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria has suspended its grants to Uganda after an investigation uncovered evidence of serious mismanagement of funds. The investigation by the organisation s local fund agent (LFA), the business services firm PwC, found a string of problems with the grants,
LUTHERAN World Federation (LWS), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Sembabule has stretched its HIV/AIDS awareness to the ongoing crowd pulling Masaza Cup. Flyers with HIV/AIDS awareness messages are distributed at matches and training sessions that normally attract big numbers of youth out of school. Videos with
HEIFER Project International (HPI) is to provide 20 exotic cows and 310 pigs to clients at The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Mbale, the centre manager has said. Dr. Jonathan Wangisi said HPI would also provide 600 local goats and 180 oxen for animal traction to the 708 clients. He said the livestock would be provid
GLOBAL health scientists are back in the laboratories after the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine appears to be having little success. The vaccine is expected to protect children from contracting the disease later in life. The BCG vaccine, (named after French researchers Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin), was first tested in
Link HIV and TB KAMPALA - The Ministry of Health is planning to establish a communication strategy with the objective of improving service delivery and treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. Assistant commissioner for Health Services, Alex Opio, said this strategy is expected to bring a radical change that will tackle
GOATs milk has a higher calcium and phosphorus content than cow s milk. Besides, the milk has a big supply of Vitamin A. This is according to the goat production manual released by the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) secretariat. Goat milk has 3% protein just like the cow s, 3.8% fats while cows have 3.
WORLD Vision, uganda has donated 20 sewing machines worth sh3m to people who tested for HIV/AIDS. The beneficiaries tested for the virus under Kaliisizo post-test club and got training in different fields, including tailoring. The training is to help them fight redundancy, which could lead them into sexual activities.
US-based Aids Health Care Foundation (AHF) president Michael Weinstein has offered 500 bicycles for people living with AIDS accessing free ARV drugs at the Uganda Cares Clinic at Masaka Regional Referral hospital. Weinstein said plans were underway to provide a bus to ease transport for people living with AIDS on antir
CROWN Agents has donated £350 (about sh1.176m) to Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative. Lydia Babinaga, the procurement manager, handed over the money to The Reach Out project director, Fr. Joseph Archette Tuesday. Crown Agents acting country director Uganda , Frank Brandford attended. This donation was rais
HIV/AIDS drug fails USA - Gilead Sciences Inc. has announced that the active ingredients of an experimental HIV pill that combined Truvada with Bristol-Myers Squibb s Sustiva were not absorbed in the same way as the ingredients given separate
Every coin has two sides. In some cultures in Uganda , the practice of pulling or stretching a woman s labia minora (the inner lobes of the vagina just below the clitoris) is highly cherished. But recent research findings have revealed that the practice, believed to enhance women s sexuality is actually risky. The repo
THE words Amecet n ainapakin (shelter of peace), inscribed on the gate, invite you to the home for children aged below six who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. It is about 500m from the heart of Soroti town, along Lira Road. Unless you go through that gate, you will not know what goes on at the home. The place see
THE Government is drafting a special Aids strategic plan to address the spread of HIV/AIDS in northern Uganda . The Aids control Programme executive director, Dr. Elizabeth Madra, said the strategy would involve NGOs, the Ministry of health and donors. She said the strategy would include coordination of activities carr
PETRO has started a nation-wide HIV/AIDS sensitisation campaign, the general manager, Ahmed Ladha, has said. Ladha said the programme aims at sensitising employees and the public about how to avoid getting infected with and spreading HIV/AIDS. He said the programme also aims at helping infected workers live positively
THE government needs at least US$1b (about sh1.8 trillion) to procure antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and supplies for HIV/AIDS clients in the next five years, the Uganda AIDS Control Project (ACP) has said. The project planner, David Kawesa, said this was inevitable due to the increasing need for such care. He said ACP had
THE United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) has given Moroto district over sh230m to support health and education and promote the welfare of Karimojong children, reports Joseph Orisa. This was disclosed by the Moroto assistant chief administrative officer in charge of UNICEF programmes, Moses Kapolon, in a meeting with
The atmosphere is quiet and tense. Guests settle down. They are here to tell their stories. Sad, moving and intriguing stories. Mrs. Lukwiya, widow of the late Dr. Matthew Lukwiya, who died of the Ebola disease at St. Mary s Hospital Lacor in Gulu, is narrating how her husband died. She is crying. The host is crying to
Africa s joint center CAIRO - African nations have agreed to create a joint centre in Cairo, Egypt , to fight infectious diseases afflicting the continent. Health ministers approved the plan at the June Cairo conference. The centre will monitor and control infectious diseases by acting as a communications hub for infor
They said it: Lukyamuzi was against Bujagali Dam and when there is no power, he attacks the minister and leads people to protest. What nonsense! I don’t stand that nonsense, Premier Apolo Nsibambi lashing out at the MP at an energy conference in Entebbe. If you know that your husband sleeps with other women, ask him to
YOU should have seen them. They came from far and near, some riding on bicycles. They arrived like homing pigeons anxious not only to listen but also to tell their story on the political transition in Uganda . They were mainly women councillors and community leaders. When they began to talk, it was difficult to stop th
THERE is a high rate of tuberculosis (TB) in Gulu with an average of 150 cases registered in a month, the district TB and leprosy supervisor, John Opwonya, has said. Opwonya was on Wednesday presenting a paper on TB at a workshop for 30 journalists and radio presenters at Rainbow Inn in Gulu town. The workshop, organis
In a speech read by the head of the German Development Cooperation (GTZ) in Uganda , Dr. Annette Windmeisser, Muehlen said through the cooperation between Uganda and Germany , rural areas had got health centers leading to a reduction of communicable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. This was during
YOU just need to walk to any of these super markets around town to appreciate the confusion our mothers are faced with. Convincing, tantalising and well displayed infant milk substitutes, infant foods and feeding bottles may make many consider weaning their children. Modern girls are also increasingly opting to breast-
WHILE breast-feeding is essential for child health, breast-feeding by HIV infected mothers significantly increases the incidence of HIV infection among infants. According to the April issue of AIDS, breast-feeding causes nearly 40% of all paediatric HIV infections. Dr. Nathan Tumwesigye, a paediatric HIV/AIDS training
THE commissioner for planning in the ministry of health, Dr. Francis Mwesigye Runumi, has urged women to divorce unfaithful husbands who refuse to go for HIV tests. If you know that your husband sleeps with other women, ask him to go for an HIV test. If he refuses, divorce him for your sake and for that of your childre
Butabika wants change NATIONAL -- Recently, an insane person beat up five patients at Butabika Hospital, leaving one dead and four injured, forcing the hospital to appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to restore the forensic unit that allows them handle such patients. Dr. James Walugembe, the hospital deputy dire
THE Uganda Bikers Association (UBA) has mobilised resources to provide assistance to HIV/AIDS patients. Health state minister Cap. Mike Mukula, the UBA Patron, on Sunday said the bikers organised events to raise awareness about the epidemic in Uganda and Rwanda . He was speaking at Shoprite Lugogo while
THE health ministry has given sh17.7b to NGOs to facilitate the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria, the commissioner for health services has said. Dr. Francis Mwesigye Runumi said this financial year, the health ministry would give financial support to NGOs as indispensable partners in health service delivery. Addressi
Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) have transformed HIV infection from a death sentence to a manageable, chronic disorder for patients in the west. But most people in the developing world still do not have access to them. The World Health Organisation had hoped to have three million people on Aids drugs by the end of 2005, bu
The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) has stopped the organisers of the Miss HIV beauty pageant scheduled for today at Sabrina s Pub in Kampala from holding the contest. The commission has summoned members of The Uganda Students AIDS Prevention Association to clarify on the matter. In a statement issued yesterday, the d
Celebrated folk music composer, Lord Fred Sebatta, is hitting unprecedented heights with new hot releases. Before the storm is over for Teriba Ddogo album, which he released early this year, he has emerged yet again with another hot album, Kilimanjaro. Nobody who hears this new album can refuse to praise Sebatta for th
Something did not sit well with me when I saw and read about Botswana s third Miss HIV-Stigma a few months ago. Now a copycat in Uganda has decided to adopt this pink elephant project. Having been in this AIDS prevention work for the last 17 years, I am totally dismayed at how politically correct Aids has become to t
THE outgoing Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Head of Mission, Isabelle Voiret, has hailed Uganda for keeping high standards of health services. Compared to other countries I have worked in, Uganda has exhibited high levels of medical standards. There are healthcare facilities in almost all the districts and majority of
THE Government is investigating the abuse of prostitutes and is closing in on a man who makes the sex workers sleep with his dogs, the gender minister said yesterday. Jude Etyang reports that Zoe Bakoko Bakoru said the man, who lives in Kampala, would be arrested soon. We have access to the girls, soon we shall arrest
An Aids patient can take two Anti-Retroviral (ARV) pills a day and still get the same value as the one who takes six. Those who are on six pills are taking the brand name drugs, which are produced by companies that have a patent on the medicines. They are expensive but original. Some other companies have been allowed t
EDUCATION minister namirembe Bitamazire has decried the high illiteracy rate in Uganda , saying it has hindered the public to keep abreast with the on-going developmental programmes. Bitamazire said HIV/AIDS had greatly affected ugandans, among them teachers who would help to reduce on the high illiteracy rate. She
THE slender body, with bones clearly showing, is forced into cranky movements. And with each movement, a bone can be heard cracking. He does not break down, but smiles. Must be enjoying the contortions. And that is only a titbit of what Circus Ethiopia presented at the National theatre last Wednesday. No wonder the aud
KIRA Road, Kawempe and Wandegeya police stations in Kampala have formed an HIV/AIDS post-test club, the Kira road police community liaison officer has said. Assistant Superint-endent of Police Patrick Karamura said, The club is to sensitise officers, their families and relatives on HIV/AIDS and carry out free voluntary
First Lady Janet Museveni has urged the public to go for HIV testing to establish their status and protect themselves accordingly. She said it was important to go for testing so that if you know you have no disease, you do everything possible to ensure you don t get it . She was on Tuesday opening the
GIRLS from Kayunga district will earn themselves free university education for keeping their virginity. Bbaale county MP Sulayiman Madaada has pledged to pay university fees for all senior six female students who are virgins in the district. He said he would ask health workers to examine and certify all the virgins to
Uganda has achieved the universal access target for anti-retroviral therapy (ART) six months ahead of the 2005 schedule. The ministry of health said 64,024 were accessing the therapy, adding that this was more than the government target of 60,000 patients on treatment by the end of 2005. About 120,000 people living w
Although the health ministry released anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to Busia district two months ago, they are still in the stores. The district director of health services, Dr. Oundo Bwire, said the ARVs were released after the district had passed its 2004/05 financial year budget and as such, the component for treatme
Lira district has approved a budget estimate of sh38.4b for the 2005/2006 financial year, reports Alex Ocen. The budget showed an increase of 14% compared to the last financial year which was at sh33b. The expenditure budget presided over by the district speaker, William Onyanga, was held on Wednesday at the district c
OVER 64,000 Ugandans are accessing free anti-retroviral therapy (ART), the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. WHO said the number of people reached represents more than half of the estimated figure, adding that this is a big achievement for the Government. WHO said an estimated 120,000 people living with HIV/AID
There is a decline in casual sex by 60%, the commissioner in-charge of health services, Dr. Sam Okware, said yesterday. Okware attributed the decline to the sustained ABC strategy used by the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Aids Commission to fight the spread of the virus. ABC stands for Abstinence, Being faithful a
THE fight against HIV/AIDS will not succeed if it discriminates against certain members of the community. Maj. Rubaramira ruranga, the executive director of the National Guidance and Empowerment network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NGEN+), said many lesbians and homosexuals in Uganda were infected but were not t
WHEN Dr Edward Jenner, a British doctor, predicted the eradication of smallpox in 1798, it took more than two centuries to prove him right. There has never been anything as lethal as smallpox in history. A deadly and virulent disease, smallpox was perceived as the grim reaper himself. From China , smallpox qu
THE greatest event to happen in Kampala this month is the first ever beauty pageant for people living with HIV. Fifteen contestants have confirmed their participation: I cannot wait for the D-Day. I am extremely excited to be a contestant in this pageant. We have to de-stigmatise the community about HIV/AIDS, says Flor
AN artist, tested HIV positive in 1998. She is on ARVs, but she says her coping has been due to a combination of factors, including positive living, social and spiritual support. She takes care of herself. She makes sure she gets prompt medication and eats a balanced diet. She has also stopped worrying about death, whi
TESTED HIV positive in 1995. She is a student and an artist. She is on ARVs. In 2003 she joined Taso Mulago Drama group where she acquired skills in public speaking. She has reached out to communities to share her life experience to other people and helped them know the benefits of Voluntary Counseling and Testing.
CAME to know her HIV status in 2000. She is not on ARVs. She says at first, the news of her HIV status, was terrifying. It was terrible time for her and she wanted to die. Then she thought, I m still alive. I must try to make the best of my situation. I opened up with a few close friends about my situation. I started l
SHE is pursuing a Diploma in social work at Nsamizi Institute of Social Development. She tested HIV positive in 2000 and is on ARVs. She says it is everyone s responsibility to take an HIV test. She says she tries to be as active as she can. She tries to keep on working and she enjoys being at her work place, where she
TESTED HIV positive in 1998. She was prompted to test due to peer pressure. She was in a group of young girls during their vacation and her friends suggested that they go for an HIV test. She says her conception about the dreaded disease changed. She no longer looked at an HIV positive diagnosis as being synonymous wit
CAME to know her HIV positive status in 2003. She says the only positive thing she can say about her condition is that it has given her a chance to be a friend of God and many people. I know God s steadfast love as it is written in Isaiah 43.1-5. A person living with HIV is still the same person that needs to feel resp
THE contest will give us an opportunity to come together and share how HIV has affected our lives as well as discuss how the community can play an active role in mitigating the epidemic. Jackie, who is a first year student of cosmetology at Mega School of Beauty in Munyonyo, tested HIV positive in 2002. She says she ha
THE Government is investigating the reported ghost widows and orphans in the World Bank-funded Community-led HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) projects. A senior official in the Uganda HIV/AIDS control project, Henry Kityo, said this on Thursday at a seminar for community development officers at Bwala Social Centre, Masaka.
About a third of the patients in Butabika Hospital have mental disorders resulting from excessive use of alcohol, a report on drug abuse said. A survey by Youth AID- Uganda said substance abuse, especially alcoholism, caused many mental disorders and was responsible for many deaths. In 1991, a clinical study by Dr
Recently, President Yoweri Museveni featured on BBC programme Talking Point discussing various issues pertaining to the country s social, economic and political situation, with Wooldridge as the moderator of the programme. Following are Museveni s views on condom use and abstinence: Mike Wooldridge: Let s turn to an is
FEW people now marry below the age of 30, a trend which medical workers describe as dangerous for childbearing mothers in that age bracket. Dr. Zainabu Akol, national coordinator for HIV testing and counselling, on Saturday said more young people were postponing marriage because they had got used to living without part
HAVING sex in the dark could be harmful to your health. At least according to the Soroti District Medical Officer, Dr. Nicholas Okwana. Robert Okello writes that Okwana last week urged the Iteso to desist from the cultural tendency to have sex in darkness. He was speaking at a workshop on Soroti District s strategic HI
Stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS should package their messages in a non-contradictory manner and make them less confusing to the youth, the First Lady has said. Janet Museveni said messages focused on behavioural change caused the rapid fall in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the 1980s and 90s from 30%, which ha
Uganda spends about $78,000 (sh134.9m) every year on re-testing imported condoms, the Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission said on Wednesday. Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli said the condoms are sent out to one of the best labs in the US before they are brought back for release to the public. Kihumuro told journali
AT the time when Uganda is making great feats against AIDS, fishermen are not part of the good news. Charlotte Howard, an epidemiologist with Uganda AIDS Commission, said HIV prevalence among fishermen is three times higher than the national average. She was addressing a workshop on Reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on
The Uganda AIDS Commission has said neither it, nor the fight against HIV/AIDS should be involved in politics, reports Anne Mugisa. HIV/AIDS has not had and does not want disagreements based on political liaisons because everybody in this country is affected by the disease, UAC Director General Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli said
ARSENAL fans in Uganda will hold an emphatic bash on July 23 at Kyadondo Rugby Club to celebrate their team s FA Cup triumph. Aside from watching acclaimed local performers Chameleone, Bebe Cool, Ragga Dee, Emperor Orlando, Juliana and Bobi Wine, fans will get a chance to win several items offered by sponsors MTN, Bell
THE First Lady, Janet Museveni (right), has criticised anti-AIDS campaigners who ill-advise the youth on sex. What s important is for young people to abstain from sex. Premarital sex is wrong. They should not open the door to HIV/AIDS, she said yesterday. Speaking at the launch of Rock Point 256 anti-AIDS radio drama p
MEN are the main propagators of the HIV epidemic because they do not use condoms and shun voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), a new study has revealed. The survey conducted in the seven high-risk districts of Sembabule, Mpigi, Kiboga, Kayunga, Nakasongola, Kalangala and Kampala shows that 82% respondents, mostly m
HE was young: in his mid 20s, medium height and unremarkable. He had recently been diagnosed HIV-positive. We talked, took tests and discussed the results. And then, he told me he was a homosexual. But he was a healthy young man. How would he stop his lovers from getting HIV? I did not know. Paul Semugoma writes THE li
Ordinary creams may clear the face of pimples, but not warts. These tiny, hardened projections of the skin can be overcome through use of natural recipes, as well as proper hygiene. Warts result from rapid cell growth on points of the skin. A single wart contains millions of cells all compressed together. Pimples, on t
LACK of adequate relevant information has contributed to the high levels of pregnancy and early marriages amongst the youth, the senior project officer, Straight Talk Foundation (STF), has said. Jerolam Omach said the youth were exposed to information that instead misinformed them about their sexual reproductive health
ESTHER Tibasiima will never forget May 16, 2000 when she confidently strolled into Mulago Hospital for a maternity check-up. She was six months pregnant and physically fit. I was told to take an HIV/AIDS test, which turned out positive, Tibasiima recalls. I panicked! I thought I would die, she says. It took her time to
HEALTH ministry officials are furious about allegations that the Government is diverting money from the Global Fund on AIDS/HIV, Malaria and TB to support political activities, reports Alfred Wasike. We need to be patriotic. Grants to Uganda amounting to US$201m over two years have been signed, with a provision of an a
FIRST Lady Janet Museveni on Wednesday launched a $15m (about sh26b) AIDS fund for the youth, worrying that the HIV prevalence rate among Ugandans had stagnated at 6% for over a decade. I have noted with a lot of concern that the prevalence rate has for a long time stagnated at about 6%. This is still high. We need to
THE world s rich countries should offer more trade opportunities and debt relief if Sub-Saharan Africa s poor are to progress towards their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a World Bank annual report has said. The report, African Development Indicators 2005, shows that while debt relief and economic growth are incr
HEALTH minister Jim Muhwezi has denied claims that the government is diverting funds meant for fighting HIV/AIDS to politics. I have never and will never allow any money intended for AIDS to be used for politics. The money is for saving our people s lives. What was written in the press recently will be clarified soon,
VULNERABLE groups in Kayunga district recently received relief items worth sh700m from Mission World Aid International, an Australia Christian NGO. The donation included 150 bales of used clothes, 3,000 blankets, 60 wheel-chairs, scholastic materials, baby toys and games equipment, 150 walking sticks, house utensils an
AN Indian pharmaceutical company has donated drugs worth sh25m to Uganda , reports Isaac Kalembe. Emare Pharmaceutical Ltd director of operations A. K. Khanna handed over the drugs to the First Lady, Janet Museveni, at her Kololo office on Friday, a State House statement said. Mrs. Museveni thanked Emare for acceptin
Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi has asked MPs to initiate Bills and motions protecting and promoting rights of people living with HIV. He said it was MP s duty to ensure that human rights principles in the international human rights instruments are integrated into national laws. It s unfortunate that people living w
THE Global AIDS fund money should not be diverted from the health ministry without the consent of people living with HIV/AIDS, activists have said. We oppose any unjustified and undemocratic changes and decisions regarding the Global AIDS fund administration without our consent, Dr. Lydia Mungerera said as she read out
ORPHANS from Mbuya Catholic Church Parish on Saturday received a sh700,000 donation for school fees, reports Charles Ariko. The Uganda Bikers Association raised the money through a charitable ride in March to support the Reach Out Mbuya Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative. The project is catering for 487 orphans. The bikers are
MEDICAL personnel in Mbale district have undergone training in administration of Chinese traditional medicine to treat HIV/AIDS symptoms. A licensed acupuncturist and director of Pan African Acupuncturist Project, Richard Mandell, recently said, The training was meant to equip healthcare providers with skills to resolv
THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has asked teachers to emphasise self-control in the fight against HIV/Aids. Mrs. Museveni said youth were more vulnerable to HIV, a state house statement said on Saturday. She asked teachers to pass on life-saving messages to the students regularly. Janet urged teachers to refer to Chris
A UNICEF commissioned study on sexual and gender-based violence reveals rape and child sexual abuse has become normal in Pabbo IDP Camp. It is the biggest camp in the north with over 67, 000 people (48,000 women and children). The study revealed six out of 10 women have suffered, 70% of girls below 18 are victims. But
COMIC Relief, a UK-based NGO, has offered one million pounds (about sh3b) to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, an official has said. Richard Graham was addressing journalists at the Muyenga-based National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (NACWOLA) headquarters on Tuesday. He said the gesture was in appreci
THE Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) will assist Gaba Fish Suppliers raise funds for over 150 orphans who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, writes Patrick Munyani. UNCCI s Kampala director Adyeri Omara said, HIV/AIDS has greatly affected the fishing industry because many people have died and
AN Israeli construction company, SBI international Holdings and Kilembe Mines Hospital, have launched a joint campaign to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kasese district. John Nzinjah reports that on Saturday, pupils marched through Kasese town with anti-HIV/AIDS placards as part of the campaign. The deputy resident dis
RENOWNED Scottish singer and music writer Annie Lennox has enlisted her support in the fight against HIV/AIDS, by sensitising the public against the disease. I can be a bridge, a voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The disease is an invisible enemy that needs total confrontation. We ve got to start talking about it an
US Ambassador Jimmy Kolker on Friday visited two eastern community-based projects supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. The projects are supported by the US embassy s Community Grant for HIV/AIDS programme. In Tororo, Kolker inaugurated a groundnut farming activity designed to improve the health of people living with
BEING open about one’s HIV/AIDS status is the best approach to fight HIV/AIDS, the justice and constitutional affairs minister has said. Dr Khiddu Makubuya said, People living with HIV/AIDS should be congratulated and praised for coming out in the open to declare that they have a problem. You should resist stigma and s
THE East Africa Paralympics Committee (EAPC) has called for government support in their efforts to intensify HIV/AIDS awareness through games and sports. The call was made at the end of a two-day regional workshop at Tal Cottages in Rubaga over the weekend, reports Samson Opus. We believe sport is the best vehicle to c
Immigrants may be steadily taking new cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis into the United States , hampering efforts to eradicate the deadly infection, researchers said recently. A special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association focusing on TB, showed the need for global control of the ancient disease
The health ministry should ensure a steady supply of anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs, the district co-ordinator for people living with HIV/AIDS has said. Israel Kabaliga Balinda said the current supply of ARVs at Mubende hospital HIV/AIDS clinic could cover only 30 patients, out of over 100.
Over 23,000 children are orphaned by HIV/AIDS and armed conflicts in Kasese, the district probation officer has said, writes John Thawite. Zerubaberi Thembo Mbauta said this on Thursday at a joint district planning meeting at the Rwenzori International Hotel in Kamaiba, Kasese town. The meeting was co-chaired by the LC
ABOUT two million children in Uganda will be orphaned by HIV/AIDS in five years’ time unless prevention, care and treatment intervention of the pandemic are scaled up to reach the most vulnerable children. The Ministry of Gender estimates that there are two million orphans countrywide, with nearly half of them orphaned
THE Government has paid sh450m to Buganda Kingdom as accumulated rent arrears for occupying Butikkiro, which is the former official residence for the Katikkiro. A source at Mengo yesterday said the cheque which was handed over to I. Kabanda, the chairman of the Buganda Land Lease committee, covered the period from Augu
NAGURU Arsenal Fans Club has embarked on HIV/AIDS prevention campaign as part of their responsibility to the community. Stay safe and healthy to enjoy football was the main theme in the club newsletter during celebrations at Deluxe Pub last weekend. Nakawa deputy RDC Mpibaza Hashaka was the guest of honour in the celeb
THE Ministry of health has given out 30 double-cabin pick-up trucks worth US$672,000 (about sh1.2b) to boost the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. Handing over the vehicles at the ministry stores in Najjanakumbi yesterday, health minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi asked the beneficiaries to put the vehicles to good use.
Doctors are stressed by the fear of contracting HIV, the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) delegates heard recently. The 60 Catholic bishops and cardinals from AMECEA, who are attending a conference at Colline Hotel, Mukono, were touring St. Francis health centre in Njeru on Monday.
THE Catholic Church will not accept condom use to fight HIV/AIDS. Catholic bishops from east and central Africa under AMECEA yesterday resolved that the Catholic Church would not accept financial assistance from atheist NGOs to fight HIV/AIDS. Bishop Anthony Banzi from Tanzania told the press at Colline Hotel in Mu
The planned increase in aid for Africa championed by British premier Tony Blair should be geared at improving economic competitiveness, President Yoweri museveni has said. He warned against concentrating aid on non-productive activities such as capacity building seminars and workshops. Museveni said Africa needed aid t
THE US has commended The Aids support organisation (TASO) for supporting people living with the disease. President George Bush is proud of TASO and his government will provide more support to the AIDS battle in Africa, the director of US agency for international development (USAID), Vicki Moore, said on Tuesday. Sh
She was raped three times by her father s friend and infected with the HIV virus. On the last time, she gathered courage and told her father about the incident. He denied and insisted that his friend could not do such a thing. The culprit was arrested. Due to threats exerted on her from the culprit, the victim could no
It is June 2 and a debate titled Uganda : An African Success Past its Prime is going on in Washington. The panelists are: Howard Wolpe, the director of African Programme of the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars; Johnnie Carson, former US ambassador to Uganda; Joel Barkan, Professor of Political Science a
A return to tradition will help in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, Charles Rwomushana, a presidential aide on political intelligence, has said. He told Bakiga students under the Makerere University Bakiga Students Association on Saturday that the Bakiga views on sex did not tolerate promiscuity “For example, whenever
MARIANDINA pills that were invented by the late Prof. Charles Ssali have been approved by the National Drug Authority (NDA) as nutritional food supplements. The pills were banned by the government in 1998 following claims by Ssali at the time that they could cure HIV/AIDS. Apollo Muhairwe, the NDA executive secretary,
The rampant HIV/AIDS infections in sub-Saharan Africa is due to strong attachment to tradition, culture and religion, President Yoweri Museveni has said. He said Uganda had to battle with traditions like circumcision and wife inheritance, which had aggravated HIV/AIDS infection. Whereas we do not outlaw circumcisi
VOLUNTARY counselling and testing has not attracted doctors, health workers and professionals, Rakai deputy director of health services Dr. Okech Ojony has said. He said the more one became educated, the more he or she became difficult to convince to take an HIV test. Okech was on Tuesday inspecting health centres in K
The KKL Euro-tour team won the inaugural KKL U-16 International tournament at KCC s Lugogo stadium on Saturday. KKL beat Friends Of Football 1-0 with a second half goal from William Ganja. Stanbic Bank sponsored the six-team tournament that included teams from Burundi and Sudan , as well a
HE may have good plans for his daughters but for others, he does not care, writes Eddie Ssejjoba. After living with HIV for years, Gabriel Sserunjogi of Kajoki in Rakai town council did not have any mercy on a seven-year-old. While playing with her friend around his compound, Sserunjogi grabbed the primary one school g
THOUSANDS of pilgrims thronged Namugongo martyrs shrine yesterday in an age-long ritual of remembering the Ugandan martyrs slain in 1886. In a rare thematic sermon delivered by Kasese Catholic Diocese Bishop Egidio Nkaijanabwo, the pilgrims were urged to guard against the spread of HIV/AIDS, by abstaining and being fai
YOUTH and child affairs minister Felix Okot Ogong has told youth leaders that sex is sweet but its enjoyment can only be savoured when they avoid getting HIV/AIDS. Okot said abstinence from pre-marital sex and sero-status testing before marriage was the best way to fight the scourge. If you are not married and you want
POSTA Uganda has joined the national public health campaign against tuberculosis (TB), HIV and leprosy by launching six new stamps. The stamps, each for sh400, highlight the three diseases with images of two elderly male lepers, a hospitalised TB mother and her infected baby. The last two bear two middle-aged male pati
COMMUNITY out-reaches are vital in the HIV/AIDS battle, the public affairs officer at the US embassy, Mark Schlachter, has said. He urged communities to unite and form a common force to reach out to the affected persons. Schlachter was on Saturday officiating at the commissioning of 60 community counsellors at St. Mose
I met Rajiv Kafle last month at an international HIV/AIDS convention at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. Kafle, one of the HIV-positive international journalists, attended the convention, courtesy of ActionAid International (AAI). The week-long meeting was to provide closer focus on AAI s response to HIV/AIDS from local to
BOTSWANA, one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the highest HIV / AIDS prevalence was the first to have organised a beauty pageant for HIV positive contestants in 2000. It has since organised four such beauty contests to help reduce the HIV stigma. Uganda plans to hold Miss HIV-Stigma Free on June 25 at Sab
THOUGH alcohol will ruin anyone s health, its effects are more devastating to women than men. Women get addicted faster, seek help less often and are more likely to die of alcohol-related diseases, says Dr David Basangwa, a consultant psychiatrist at Butabika Hospital. A single drink for a woman has the same impact as
THE Police have been accused of declining to gather evidence to help in prosecuting men who rape deaf girls. The Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) gender and theatre coordinator, Florence Mukasa, says despite reporting rape cases to the Police, offences were increasing daily. The Police are dismissing
UGANDA is one of two countries in Africa identified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to handle a $3m (about sh5b) pilot project to combat child labour and HIV/Aids. Deputy regional ILO director Alexion Musindo said on Thursday that Uganda and Zambia s success in fighting HIV/Aids had made them exemplary.
THE United States department of Labour Bureau of International Labour Affairs and World Vision International have given northern Uganda $5.5m (about sh9.5b) to fight child Labour and HIV/AIDS in Gulu, Kitgum, Arua and Lira. The four-year initiative, under the Kenya , Uganda,
THE FUFA delegates elected last December will form the extraordinary assembly that will pass the new constitution the Dr. James Sekajugo team are currently writing. Sekajugo confirmed that despite the disbandment of the FUFA executive led by Denis Obua, the delegates who were supposed to have voted at the FUFA polls in
HIV vaccine awaited KAMPALA - Scientists still have to work harder to find the vaccine for HIV. But according to the director general of Uganda Aids Commission, Dr David Kihumuro Apuuli, some vaccines are on trial all over the world. But Uganda still lacks funds. Of the 1.2 b dollars we need, there is only 600m dollars
HELPING FIGHT AIDS: Manchester United s Rio Ferdinand shakes hands with a Malawi boy at the Civo stadium in Lilongwe on Monday. Together with teammate Gary Neville, and David James (in the background) from Manchester City, the three England soccer internationals urged more than 3,000 Malawian youths to step up the figh
THE agriculture, animal industry and fisheries ministry, has received Euros 29.9m European Union grant for the formation of Beach Management Units (BMUs) on Lake Victoria, a senior fisheries officer, has said. Joyce Ikwaput Nyeko said BMUs would get rid of the crude fishing methods that threaten fishing on lakes and ri
MEDICAL personnel in Mbale district have undergone training in administration of Chinese traditional medicine to treat HIV/AIDS symptoms. A licensed acupuncturist and director of Pan African Acupuncturist Project, Richard Mandell, recently said, The training was meant to equip healthcare providers with skills to resolv
Milk shortage KAYUNGA - The district agricultural officer, Samuel Muloma, has noted a serious milk shortage in the district as farmers daily production fails to reach the previous 10,000 litres. This was even too low for the district s 0.3m people. Yet the little that is produced is still taken to Kampala for sale. Th
THE US global AIDS coordinator has commended President Yoweri Museveni and the Movement government for the fight against the HIV/AIDS scourge in the country. Ambassador Randall Tobias said the exemplary leadership in Uganda had greatly influenced the reduction in new HIV infections from 30% to less than 6% in the last
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has written to the eight richest countries, the G8, asking them to increase funding for HIV/AIDS activities. Recently, the President wrote to the G8 to increase funding for research, Uganda Aids Commission director Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli said on Wednesday. Kihumuro, who was speaking during th
HEALTH state minister Mike Mukula and the visiting US global AIDS coordinator, ambassador Randall Tobias, yesterday took HIV tests to jump start a campaign for Ugandans to test voluntarily. After about three minutes of counselling, they took the test in ward 4A of Mulago Hospital in full view of the press but their res
Moyo Hospital has opened an Antiretroviral Therapy Clinic to enable people living with HIV/AIDS to access drugs. Prof. Peter Mugyenyi, the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC), officiated at the ceremony over the weekend. JCRC is to fund the installation of a satellite connection at the hospital. Th
Two camps for displaced people in Gulu district have got HIV/AIDS outreach centres. The centres were opened by The Aids Support Organisation (TASO). The district TASO centre manager, Kimera Mutebi, said this on Sunday at a candle- light day to commemorate those who lost their lives and those affected and infected with
Inmates at Kodiaga Prison will now get free anti-retrovirals and tuberculosis drugs at the new health facility at the institution. The facility was constructed through a partnership between the Centres for Disease Control, Kenya Prisons and medical authorities. A new X-Ray unit was also installed at a cost of Sh3 milli
THE Mothers Union should work towards eliminating poverty, the body s world president, Trish Heywood, has said. If women work hard and poverty is eradicated in the world, HIV/Aids will end because it is poverty that has led to its spread in the sub-Saharan countries, she said. Heywood was on Friday addressing union mem
HUNDREDS of youth on Saturday made an abstinence commitment by signing cards of True Love Waits. Dr. Ada Kakembo, an ophthalmologist with International Air Ambulance, said in signing the cards, the youth were making a commitment to God, themselves, their families, country, future children and friends to be sexually pur
NYERERE has been on both tuberculosis and AIDS treatment. He writhes with pain and walks with a limp. His left leg is swollen and full of blisters. The inflammation resembles elephantiasis or herpes. It is very painful and the sores are heading towards my manhood. Sometimes, I pour cold water on the leg to reduce the p
CANCER has become common among people living with HIV/AIDS due to uncontrolled viral infection. The most common types of cancer among AIDS patients are: Lung cancer: The risk of developing lung cancer among people living with HIV/AIDS is about eight times greater than that among HIV negative people. Kaposi s Sarcoma: T
MAJ. Muhoozi kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni s son, has cautioned nurses against discriminating people living with HIV/AIDS, saying the act was likely to cause trauma to patients and lead to early deaths. These people are our brothers and sisters and they also need our love. Give them the maximum care whenever t
AIDS award KAMPALA - Action Aid International- Uganda inaugurated the Noerine Kaleeba Breaking the Silence Award, which is aimed at ending stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. The award was presented to people, who broke the silence, at a dinner in Sheraton recently. It is part of a campaign a
The Itesots of Soroti and Katakwi received the Action-Aid Get on Board bus in a colourful traditional African ceremony on the morning of May 11. Right from the edge of Soroti town, a group of Itesot singers wearing multi-coloured shirts led the convoy into the town centre with rich Ateso music as they played the thumb
Question: What was your mission when you came to Uganda ? Answer: At the time I came to Uganda (on July 10, 2000), there was need to keep up the co-operation, which WHO had with the government of Uganda. In the technical co-operation signed between the government and WHO, just at about the time of Uganda s independence
Kamuli deputy resident district commissioner Harriet Nakazaana Kiingi has offered to connect Ffe Ffe Nyini, a local NGO in Wandegeya, to international organisations to provide funds to alleviate poverty and fight HIV/AIDS, reports Alice Kiingi. She made the remarks at a get-together party popularly known as Nigiina, at
DEATH is what keeps getting closer to us as we live. Its an unbearable certainty that has to live its course. But on the stage, it is a different kind of death. Unlike real life, the death in theatre is more appropriate when the character is at his/her climax, as if to spook at their efforts. No wonder you will be hard
Aloysius Matovu Joy proves yet again that drama is a tool to change people s minds. In his new drama, The Test, on HIV/AIDS, he dissects the struggle against the scourge. It is about a family man, who loses his wife to HIV/AIDS, but courageously lives a positive life. He becomes the symbol of fighting against AIDS. His
FORTY million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world, a United nations AIDS agency official has said. Tack Inge, a partnership adviser to the Uganda AIDS Commission, said the figure included people infected in 2004. She told MPs at an HIV/AIDS workshop at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Monday that 25 million women were
ACTIONAid Uganda has given an award to Noerine Kareeba, the founder of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), for breaking the silence against HIV/AIDS. The Nabagereka, Sylvia Nagginda, presented the prestigious award to Kaleeba at a dinner hosted by ActionAid at Sheraton hotel Kampala on Monday. Others recognised w
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni last weekend hosted the World Adventist president, Dr. Jan Paulsen, at State house, Nakasero in Kampala. Vision reporter writes that the seventh Day Adventist (SDA) leader arrived in Uganda on Friday, accompanied by SDA AIDS ministry associate director Dr. Eugenia Giordano. State House sai
THE works ministry has initiated a strategy to combat HIV/AIDS infection by promoting sensitisation programmes at road construction sites in Kasese district. The programme is contracted by SBI International Road Construction, a Netherland-based firm and implemented by National Guidance and Empowerment Network of People
THE AIDS support organisation (TASO) has received a US$50m (about sh85b) donation from the United states agency for international development (USAID) to treat people living with HIV/AIDS for the next three years. The anti-retroviral therapy programme and STD/AIDS control programme officer in the ministry of health, Eli
MUSLIMS have vowed to go for Jihad (holy war) if the Domestic Relations Bill (DRB) 2003 is passed without any amendments. The director of the Uganda Muslim Youth Assembly, Abass Kiyimba, said, The Muslim community has been provoked for long. I may not be the one to fight but there are Muslims ready to go for Jihad. We
THE out-going World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative has criticised people who campaign against condom use in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Oladapo Walker said, I will never tolerate people who don t support the use of condoms in the fight against the dangerous killer disease. A fact is a fact. Condom use
THE latest national sero-survey results show that around 800,000 Ugandans, or 7% of the population, are infected with HIV. Uganda has been applauded internationally for bringing HIV rates down from the 18% who were infected 15 years ago. However, there is no room for complacency and there are some alarming indicators i
NAGURU Teenage Information and Health Centre (NTIHC) has run short of condoms, Edith Mukisa, the programme director, said on Monday. The shortage follows last year s ban of the Engabu brand after they were found defective. NTIHC is a pioneer programme involved in adolescent sexual reproductive health services with annu
FOLLOWING the recent allocation of free antiretroviral drugs for 12,000 HIV/AIDS patients in 104 accredited health centres, the health ministry has warned that not all HIV positive persons need treatment with ARVs. Omaswa said the decision as to who is put on treatment was a clinical decision. He said the management of
THE latest statistics of the HIV/AIDS prevalence are worrying, Parliament Speaker edward ssekandi has said. Ssekandi said although Uganda was exemplary in the fight against the pandemic, the statistics from the health ministry caused apprehension. He was yesterday meeting a nine-man delegation of MPs from South Africa
SEXUALLY active people in Iganga district are failing to use the abundant supply of free condoms, an official has said. the district director of health services, Dr. David Muwanguzi, said a recent survey indicated that only 5% of the population used condoms. We have stocked health units with free condoms. In fact, some
The government should emphasise behaviour change other than promoting condom use if the AIDS scourge is to be fought, Lugazi diocese Bishop Dr. Matthias Ssekamaanya has said. He asked the government to ban programmes that promote immorality like holiday bashes and televisions that broadcast pornographic materials.
THE lack of information centres and and reproductive health units in Mukono district has accelerated the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth, the deputy director for health services, Dr. Suzan Wandera, has said. She said this at a trainers workshop for adolescent sexual reproductive health workers from schools at Mukono
OVER 800,000 adults in Uganda are infected with HIV, which is about 7% of all adults, according to a ministry of Health survey on HIV/AIDS. There has been an overall declining trend of HIV infection from 18% in 1992 to the current figure of 7%, according to preliminary findings from the 2004-2005 Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-B
A TOTAL of 28 American peace corps have sworn in to serve as volunteers in Uganda for two years. The volunteers were sworn in by US envoy Jimmy Kolker at his residence in Kampala. Kolker said the volunteers would bring hope to HIV/AIDS struck communities, the destitute and disadvantaged. The visiting US AIDS coordi
KAMULI district vice-chairman Michael Kanaku has called for behaviour change, saying it is the best weapon against HIV/AIDS. He said the ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condoms) approach had loopholes. Despite all those interventions, the prevalence rate is either constant or increasing. I think the best message sh
RELIGIOUS leaders should sensitise their followers about the danger of HIV/AIDS, the Acholi Khadi has said. Musa Khelil said, Let us open our eyes as religious leaders and talk about HIV/AIDS. The rate of spread of the disease is alarming in our sub-region, which needs a concerted effort to fight it. He was on Tuesday
THE bishop of North Ankole Diocese, the Rt. Rev. John Muhanguzi, has asked the people of Nyabushozi and Kazo counties in Mbarara district to stop wife inheritance to fight HIV/AIDS. In a speech read by the diocesan secretary, Stephen Amanya, muhanguzi said the Church of Uganda would maintain that abstinence and faithfu
Teenagers are taking part in a group sex activity known as daisy-chaining , nurses have claimed. School nurses at the Royal College of Nursing s conference in Harrogate said colleagues in parts of London had become aware of the practice. Nurses warn daisy-chaining, where acts are performed with multiple partners, puts
The World Bank has given US$20m (sh35b) for the Great Lakes Initiative on HIV/AIDS project to combat the pandemic in the region. President Yoweri Museveni has warned that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is posing a serious threat to security and stability of the region. The Council of Ministers for the Great Lakes initiative on
The Straight Talk Foundation is to sensitise 1,050 primary school teachers and students on adolescent reproductive health in Mbale district. A statement issued by the foundation said the workshops take place this month. The statement, quoting Jane Namunane, the district population officer, said about 60% of girls get p
Primary school teachers in Masaka district have hailed the presidential initiative on AIDS Strategy for communication to Youths (PIASCY) programme, saying it had encouraged more pupils to report cases of sexual abuse. They said the PIASCY had encouraged more pupils to openly talk about sexual abuses. The teachers were
THE Government health centres in Kampala are facing a shortage of condoms. Kampala City Council (KCC) has appealed to the Ministry of Health to release more condoms, saying the demand in Kampala is too high. The ministry usually releases about 300,000 condoms to be distributed to the 10 health centres run by KCC and ot
THE Catholic Church stand on condoms and contraceptives will not change, the Catholic Bishop of Lugazi Diocese has said. We have always told the Government and our followers that we are against condoms and use of contraceptives as a means of birth control and prevention of HIV/AIDs, Mathias Ssekamanya said. He said the
THE director general Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli and the Minister for the Presidency, Dr. Beatrice Wabudeya, have opposed a proposal to have compulsory counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS. They were appearing before the parliamentary committee on presidential and foreign affairs on Wednesday.
THE youth have been advised to take HIV/AIDS tests in order to know their status as a first step in curbing the disease. Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya made the call at an HIV/AIDS sensitisation workshop for youth from Wakiso district on Saturday. He asked the youth to involve themselves in community efforts to f
THE Ministry of Education has banned the promotion and distribution of condoms in both primary and post primary institutions. In a circular to all primary school headteachers, the ministry s anti-HIV/AIDS coordinator, Yusuf Nsubuga, said while the national AIDS communication strategy was still anchored on the ABC strat
MOST of the challenges facing Uganda in reproductive health and population awareness issues and control are highly concentrated in northern Uganda, the state minister for northern Uganda reconstruction has said. Grace Akello said, The HIV/AIDS prevalence in northern Uganda is 17% as opposed to the national figure of ar
KAYUNGA district has run out of condoms, the area woman MP, Victoria Ssebagereka, has said. No condoms have been supplied to the district since February. In drug shops, a packet of three protector condoms costs sh1,000 up from sh200 and a box costs sh8,000 up from sh1,000, Ssebagereka said. She was addressing a health
THE Kasese district health management team has appealed to the health ministry and NGOs for an emergency supply of condoms. Chairing a quarterly meeting at Kilembe Hospital on Friday, team chairman John tinkasimire said the district had an acute shortage of condoms. This was after medical officers in charge of health s
A US embassy official has urged vocational training centres to support orphans, saying they would be playing a role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. William Fitzgerald, the deputy chief of mission in the US embassy, was on Friday presiding over the graduation ceremony of 28 orphans at Meeting Point Vocational Training Ce
ActionAid international Uganda has established The Noerine Kaleeba Breaking the Silence Award to recognise women and men championing the fight against HIV/AIDS. The NGO calls for nominations From civil society organisations and the public for suitable candidates for the award. Noerine Kaleeba, who chairs ActionAid
SUPPLY of ARVs (AIDS drugs) to Uganda will not be affected by the Indian patent law that bars export of generic drugs made before 1995. Health state minister Mike Mukula told Parliament on Wednesday that the generic drugs Uganda imported from India were not in the category affected by the law to enforce intellectual ri
OVER 50% of the children infected by HIV/AIDS die by their second birthday, a new medical book launched yesterday at Makerere University Medical School has revealed. The risk of transmission for a child born to an HIV-infected mother in an African setting without PMTCT (Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child-Transmission) inter
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) documented about 1,600 people including 138 Congolese soldiers, which it says were killed by Ugandan soldiers, reports Anne Mugisa. This was one of the issues that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is to decide. The DRC documented 38 officers and some 100 Congo
THE Minister of Health, Jim Muhwezi, has presented Uganda s HIV/AIDS situation in Copenhagen, Denmark . Muhwezi (right) also talked about further strengthening the fight against the scourge through abstinence, faithfulness and condom use (ABC strategy). This was at a function at which Denmark launched a strategy to
WORLD Vision Gulu Area Development Programme (ADP) is taking care of over 3,000 people, mainly mothers and children, whose husbands and parents have either died or are down with aids. Chris Ochowun reports that the programme coordinator, Peter Walyaula, on Friday said about 70% of the people living with AIDS were women
ANKOLE businessmen have expressed concern about the government s lack of concern for children living with HIV/AIDS in boarding schools. They also said the cost of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) was still high and only the wealthy people could afford them. Children are sick with HIV/AIDS in boarding schools and catering fo
Govt releases free ARVs KAMPALA - More than 11,000 AIDS/HIV patients will access free antiretroviral drugs across the country, Prof Francis Omaswa, the director of General Health Services, said recently. Omaswa said the drugs were acquired with money from Uganda Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria project. Mulago
Mothers living with HIV/AIDS have decried the stigma they face in health centres. They are accusing doctors and nurses of neglecting them and handling them roughly during labour. Angela Babirye is a beautiful 29-year-old HIV positive mother of three children. Her last baby falls sick regularly. Babirye and the baby are
The United States Institute of medicine (IOM) has cleared the Ugandan study, which showed that HIV/AIDS drug, nevirapine , effectively prevented mother-to-child transmission. IOM released its findings validating the Ugandan study on Friday in New York. The panel of experts that confirmed the safety and effica
THE Government is to provide free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to all public servants and their immediate family members, state minister for economic monitoring Omwony Ojwok has said. He said this at a three-day retreat for Line Ministries Self Coordinating Entity (LMSCE) organised by the President’s Office at Paradise H
LONDON, Tuesday – Ugandan women will be among the 10,000 expected to take part in trials for a gel that can prevent women from being infected by the HIV virus which causes AIDS Britain on Tuesday pledged 24 million pounds (about sh72b) to fund trials for the gel. The field trials, to be carried out by the Medical Resea
THE deaf always miss information on HIV/AIDS prevention because they cannot read newspapers, neither can they listen to radios, the Uganda national association for the deaf (UNAD) has said. Florence Mukasa, the UNAD gender and theatre coordinator, said this on Tuesday during a press conference at Westland hotel in Mbar
THE African information Technology exhibition conference (AITEC) is undertaking efforts to create HIV/AIDS awareness in rural areas, reports Abubaker Mukose. AITEC director Abubaker Basajjabaka said sh75m would be injected into the initial phase of the public sensitisation campaign that offers fringe prizes to members
INTERNALLY displaced persons (IDPs) should get voluntary HIV counselling and testing, the Lira district speaker has said. William Onganga said immorality was high in the IDP camps and therefore exposing many to the risk of HIV/AIDS. He was last week opening Akonyere Kenwa Orphan support group in Lira municipality.
India has joined World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has to comply with the trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This includes stopping the production of versions of patented anti-AIDS drugs. India has been the world s largest manufacturer of these generic drugs. Already their parliament has passed a
THE Samusenge stream beats on small rocks as it snakes its way from the Rwenzori Mountains through Silvano Kaija s compound. Greenery follows the bubbling stream. Except for the mountaintops roofed with white clouds, the dark village earth carries breathtakingly green grass, trees and banana plantations. Three children
Uganda is expected to host the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), which is usually attended by one third of the world leaders including Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Commonwealth. McKinnon will meet President Yoweri Museveni to discuss the country s successful experiences in fighting HIV/AID
KITGUM is a bedrock of LRA hot zone. Since the beginning of the insurgency, residents here know nothing else beyond the debilitating life in the camp. Without relief or aid, nothing gets done. Sanitary pads or safe delivery kits are luxuries here. Most expectant mothers visit maternity wards without any. With the dehum
THE director General Uganda AIDS commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, has said the ministry of finance is studying the possibility of revising the 10% tax on anti retroviral (ARV) drugs. This matter needs to be addressed urgently, Kihumuro said on Thursday at Parliament, at the launch of the HIV/AIDS toolkit. The recently
East African governments have been asked to exempt antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) from the 10% tax levy introduced as a result of the East African Customs Union. International agencies have also been urged to allow the manufacture of cheap generic drugs. The chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on HIV/AIDS,
UGANDA s leading wildlife trader, Smith Ewa Maku, has defended the export of 280 monkeys saying researchers would provide cheaper AIDS drugs in return. Maku was reacting to press reports indicating that the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) had stopped him from exporting the primates. UWA s Moses Mapesa said most of
THE AIDS Treatment Information Centre (ATIC) has opened up its telephone lines for healthcare providers dealing with HIV/AIDS to call in and have their queries on care and management of the disease answered at no cost. By beeping once the numbers 031-307245/307228, HIV health workers will be able to get on demand, up-t
-- Pakwach leads in HIV PAKWACH - The number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Pakwach town council is higher than that in all the town councils in Nebbi district, the Branch Manager AIDS Information Centre (AIC) Arua, James Okweny has said. The prevalence rate of the infected person stands at 10% the most affected b
A US-based human rights group has criticised the government for promoting abstinence in the fight against AIDS and minimising efforts to promote the use of condoms. Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, Janet, of falling under the influence of US Christian conservatives and placing yo
THE Uganda Programme for Human and Holistic Development (UPHOLD) has earmarked sh720m for northern and eastern Uganda under the Family and Community Action Grants project. The benefiting districts are Lira and Katakwi with sh180m each and Nakapiripirit with sh306m. The UPHOLD north-eastern regional director, James Char
NATIONAL Council of Sports (NCS) has in conjunction with the Global Fund, organised an HIV/AIDS sensitisation workshop and tour of Eastern Uganda by KCC junior side, City Lads. As part of the tour, City Lads will play a series of friendly matches with Ngora and Manafa High School during the Easter period. According
First Lady Janet Museveni has warned the youth against exposing themselves to HIV/Aids during the Easter season. In a message of goodwill and hope during Easter, Janet maintained her position on abstinence as the major model of fighting HIV infection. I urge all people especially the youth to desist from situations tha
MEN have been advised against polygamy because it is a major way of spreading HIV. First lady Janet Museveni said it was wrong for Africans to accept the belief that African men were polygamous by nature. This is not acceptable. This is as insult. We must reject and defeat it. Men in Uganda should get angry
THE trucks for the World Food Programme (WFP) have just left Ireda Camp, bringing the much needed food ration for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Behind are angry and hungrier cries. Ireda IDP Camp, with 6,000 people, is found on the outskirts of Lira town. Displaced from their farms, the IDPs rely on relief f
THE first thing that catches your eye is the army tank parked near a mango tree at the grass-thatched UPDF detachment, with its barrel ready to fire. To a stranger, seeing soldiers seated next to a huge gun can increase the heartbeat. But the Internally Displaced People (IDP) at Unyama, six kilometres along Gulu - Kitg
BUGIRI Network of AIDS Service Organisations has demanded that the district woman MP, Justine Lumumba Kasule, resigns from the parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS, reports Charles Kakamwa. This followed recent press reports that quoted Kasule as saying that people with HIV should not be given anti-retroviral drugs but
MUSLIM leaders in Africa have supported the use of condoms in the prevention of HIV/AIDS but said the method should be restricted to married couples. Over 180 leaders from 17 African countries on Friday declared that condoms were not allowed for the unmarried people and that condom use should not be the most emphasised
ALL people living with HIV will in the next few years receive free AIDS drugs (ARVs) from the Government, reports Darious Magara. State minister for health in-charge of primary health care Alex Kamugisha said the Government would not be intimidated by threats from donors urging them to stop providing free drugs. He s
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni is too lenient on those opposed to the constitutional amendment, especially the lifting of the presidential term limits, Luweero LC5 chairman Haji Abdul Nadduli has said. Nadduli said this at the launch of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) programme at Butuntum
THE US has announced an additional $27m for food aid to northern Uganda , the American Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Tony P. Hall, has said, writes Milton Olupot. A statement from the Embassy in Kampala yesterday quoted Hall, speaking in Gulu, as saying that the US would contribute
THE HIV/AIDS prevalence has shifted from the youth to an older generation, the Commissioner of Health Services, Dr. Sam Okware, has said. He said there was a six-fold decline in HIV prevalence in the young age groups. Fewer young people are now infected and the epidemic is affecting mostly the older groups. The cent
UGANDANS should desist from immorality, despite availability of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), the Vice-President has said. Prof. Gilbert Bukenya said people had reverted to immoral behaviour since the emergency of ARVs, which had raised the infection rate. The advent of antiretroviral treatment should not flag off compl
FOR long, we believed that sugar s only role in our bodies was for energy. However, apart from energy giving, sugars also protect us from diseases. Research shows that sugars are involved in cell communication. The language of life, is what Dr Bill McAnalley, a researcher, calls it. When the body gets sick, the cells m
CHILD rights advocates have demanded for a policy that will ensure that children living with AIDS benefit from anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment. Their demand is genuine. More than 100,000 children are living with HIV in Uganda and nearly one third of these may require ARVs. Whereas nearly 40,000 Ugandan adults have prol
THIRTY-eight percent of serving teachers have HIV/AIDS, Dr. Bernard Mayanja of memorial hospital in Mbarara has said. He said this was revealed by a research carried out by the centre for international education university of the Sussex institute of education in the UK. He said the government should put more effort in
PEOPLE living with AIDS in Kabale district have appealed to the Government not to shift the AIDS fight to abstinence from condom use. Speaking through spokesman Emmanuel Mashomero, they said Uganda was risking losing more people to the scourge, saying abstinence was not practicable. Mashomero was addressing the pre
THE Government should come up with an effective policy on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) to cater for children, stakeholders have said. Over 20 participants at a two-day workshop on Children and HIV/AIDS said minors were not catered for in terms of provision of ARVs. They said there was no policy for HIV-positive childr
PEOPLE living with HIV yesterday demonstrated at the India High Commission against a decision by the Indian government to stop the production of generic anti-retroviral drugs. The National Community for People Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA) national coordinator, Annet Biryetega, led about 80 protesters. Subscribe to Al
THE World Bank has approved a $20m (sh34b) grant to foster the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Great Lakes Region, a statement from the bank’s office in Kampala has said. The countries are Uganda , Burundi , Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya , Rwanda and
The Mulago-based AIDS Treatment Information Centre (ATIC) has opened up free telephone lines to provide instant information on administration and management of Anti-Retro Viral drugs (ARV) to health providers in Africa. The Principle investigator of ATIC, Prof. David Sserwadda, said on Wednesday that the centre would h
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS have rapped Bugiri Woman MP Justine Lumumba, over her proposal that AIDS victims should be left to die to save the future generation. Lumumba reportedly told the parliament committee on HIV/AIDS that giving patients access to anti-retroviral drugs made them look healthy and confused people a
THE Government will waive taxes on anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to enable patients to easily access them. The minister of health, Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi, yesterday said they were in talks with the finance ministry over the matter. I would like to assure members that we shall not accept any taxes on drugs especially ARVs,
Last Friday, arriving at Entebbe airport, I caught the afternoon flight to Gulu aboard Eagle Air, and half an hour after landing, headed for Pabbo Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. I was determined to find a place to bunk for the night, spend the afternoon listening to residents, who have endured nine years of h
GULU LC5 vice-chairman Kerobino Ojok Paul has told residents of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the district to fight prostitutes in their area. We are tired of this new practice by some ladies who come into IDP camps and engage in sex trade. If you get any of the ladies practicing sex for money, just beat
THE use of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs has increased the spread of HIV/AIDS, a ministry of health official has said. Dr. Francis Runumi, the commissioner for planning, said some people on the ARV therapy continued having unprotected sex when symptoms of the disease disappeared. ARVs eliminate most symptoms such as skin
THE Ministry of Health is in consultations to change the brand name for Engabu condoms to restore public trust in the condoms, an official has said. The AIDS control programme director, Dr. Elizabeth Madra, said the process needed time because they had to consult all stakeholders. People lost confidence in the condoms
We have had miss Kampala, miss Bwaise, miss this and that. Now, it is time to brace for the 2005/6 miss Makerere University Business School (MUBS) beauty pageant. The event is scheduled for March 19, at the new Lugogo stadium next to shoprite. Gates open at 5:00pm. Entrance is sh10,000 for students and other revellers,
OVER 30 sportsmen and women have been summoned to attend the fifth workshop on HIV Aids organised by the National Council of Sports (NCS) at Masaka Social Center starting today. The four day event aims at producing peer educators from various sports disciplines who would in turn pass on information about HIV Aids and i
The World Bank will provide US$150,000 (about sh255m) for a condom-testing machine, which will be here in June. The intervention followed a general outcry over the condom shortage in the country and after the free Engabu condom brand was found wanting. The parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDs last week heard that the de
RAKAI resident district commissioner Allen Mary Kemerwa and the LC5 chairman, Vincent Semakula, have criticised the Community HIV/Aids Initiative (CHAI), saying people have not gained from it. Semakula said during an interview recently that over sh600m had been released but only a few individuals, who were not the targ
THE media yesterday quoted Dr David Kihumuro Apuuli, the director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, as saying that medical reports from the districts of Masaka and Rakai showed increased incidents of loose sex. Kihumuro Appuli blamed this trend on the apparently wrong thinking that Anti-retro-viral (ARV) drugs wou
The Government has imported 21 million condoms of the controversial Engabu brand but they await further testing before being distributed, writes Josephine Maseruka. The director general of the Uganda Aids Commission (UAC), Dr. David Kihumuro Apuuli, yesterday told a parliamentary committee on HIV/Aids that the consignm
THE Global Fund Initiative to fight T/B, HIV/AIDS and malaria has been launched in Rukungiri district with emphasis on helping HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children. The initiative will be implemented by rukungiri Gender and Development association, an association that promotes gender in the social, economic a
A Christian organisation involved in the fight against HIV/Aids has said the policy of Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use (ABC) has loopholes. A delegate from Churches United in the Struggle against HIV/Aids in southern and Eastern Africa s (CUAHA), the Rev. Johana Heath, said the fight against HIV/Aids should go b
Should those who knowingly infect unsuspecting partners with HIV/AIDS be prosecuted for first degree murder when the alleged victims later die? That s the question the Canadian judicial system is set to debate following the laying of first degree murder charges last week against Mr. Johnson Aziga, 48, of Hamilton, west
A sh1b regional centre for The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) has been opened in Gulu. The storeyed TASO building located along Dr. Mathew Lukwiya road in Gulu town was commissioned by Rwot Onen Acana II on Saturday. The executive director of TASO, Dr. Alex Coutinho, said the cost included furnishing the building and
The rising number of orphans in Jinja town is caused by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the mayor has said. David Wakudumira said most of the over 4,000 orphans in the municipality lost their parents to the epidemic. He was speaking at the second annual general meeting of the Jinja Network of people with HIV/AIDS at the to
The Kalangala chief administrative officer has appealed to the Ministry of Health to supply condoms to fishermen in the district at subsidised rates, reports Eddie Ssejjoba. Olive Hope Nakyanzi said there was an acute shortage of condoms in most shops and clinics at landing sites. This, she said, could escalate HIV/Aid
A FINANCE ministry official has criticised the continued donor funding of HIV/AIDS programmes in Uganda , saying it is responsible for the rising inflation in the country. Keith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the Treasury, said the donor funds for HIV/AIDS were also killing the private sector. Contributing at
Makerere University researchers have developed a model that could lead to a cure or preventive treatment for HIV/AIDS. The model is based on the natural method that bacteria use to resist invasion by viruses, said Dr Misaki Wayengera, a scientist at the Faculty of Medicine. Most bacteria have an enzyme system called re
From his appearance, gait and voice, Twaha Bukenya, 42, appears 10 years younger. Living in America for 20 years has not really corrupted his accent. He speaks softly and naturally. He is outgoing and courteous. Meeting him for the first time after talking to him on phone was like we had been friends for sometime. In a
WASHINGTON, Friday - Programmes that promote abstinence and monogamy to combat AIDS are failing in a landmark Ugandan study, and only condom use has kept the deadly virus in check, researchers reported on Wednesday. Their study, presented to a meeting of AIDS researchers, suggests that Uganda s much-lauded success in b
CONFUSION marred the regional students conference on ARVs therapy and latest development in HIV care at Makerere University St Francis community when the organisers supplied bags and T-shirts in the toilet. The conference was organised by Makerere University student s doctors and drew participants from
As the world gets set for the biggest night in cinema, Africa has found another reason to smile. yesterday, the sixth film in the M-Net original movies series has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best foreign Language Film category. Yesterday goes head-to-head with As It Is In Heaven, The Chorus, Downfall and
African jazz lovers in Kampala will probably whine when they realise that sensational African jazz maestro, Samite Mulondo, was in the country for a whole month but none of them got a chance to hear him perform. The American-based Ugandan artiste, who was last here in 1997, sneaked into the country on January 28 to emb
PERSONS living with HIV in Kasese district saw a ray of hope last week following the launch of the anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) project at Kagando Hospital. The services were extended to the area by the Joint Clinical Research Centre through lobbying by the hospital and the retired Bishop of South Rwenzori Diocese, Zeb
MASINDI - At least 1,000 orphans and widows infected with HIV/AIDS have received sh219m from the Uganda AIDS Control Project. This took place during the commemoration of the World AIDS Day at Karujubu Primary School on Monday.
THE parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS has summoned health minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi to explain the continued condom shortage and lack of HIV testing kits in the country, reports Josephine Maseruka. He will appear before the committee with officials of the Uganda Aids Commission and National Medical Stores. The M
MUKONO - The district chairman, Godfrey Ddamulira, has called for more sensitization about the HIV/AIDS virus. He said most people in rural areas still think the disease is spread through witchcraft and not sex. The Government should embark on more sensitization on the HIV/AIDS scourge because many of our people deep i
THE Uganda programme for Human And Holistic Development (UPHOLD) is to inject sh9b to facilitate community organisation in 20 districts handling HIV/AIDS projects. The recipient community-based organisations will use the funds in the next two years. UPHOLD operates in Kamuli, Bugiri, Mayuge and Pallisa districts. U
WIFE inheritance is claiming many lives in Bunyaruguru, Bushenyi district, local government minister Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere has said. Even when it is clear that the departed husband had AIDS, people still want to inherit the wife, he said. He was on Wednesday speaking at the burial of Birignia Ngonzi, the mother of fo
TODAY is the first anniversary of the Barlonyo massacre. On February 21, 2004 LRA rebels brutally killed more than 200 internally displaced people at Barlonyo camp, near Lira town. As we remember those who were shot and hacked to death at Barlonyo, we should reflect on the circumstances that led to this massacre, with
A TEN percent tariff on imported medicines under the East African customs union is likely to cause a hike in price of AIDS drugs, stakeholders have warned. The common external tariff tax came into effect with the coming of the customs union on January 1 2005, and affects only Uganda and
SCIENTISTS have started registering volunteers for Uganda s third HIV vaccine trial set to begin July this year. Over 70 people attended a seminar on the first phase trial to be conducted by the Makerere University Walter Reed Project. The HIV-1 DNA plasmid vaccine is to be tested on 30 HIV negative adults who will be
THE US Department of Defence has hailed President Yoweri Museveni as an effective leader and the UPDF as a role model force for other armies in the world in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS. The UPDF, which once faced decimation in a losing battle with HIV/AIDS, has sprung back to become an exceptional partner and mod
THE Department For International Development (DFID)-UK has given project equipment worth over sh34m to its implementing partners in Gulu district, writes Chris Ochowun and Cornes Lubangakene. DFID is a British government department responsible for promoting development and reducing poverty. The equipment, which include
AN HIV/AIDS treatment handbook, Great Lakes Positive Handbook, will be launched today. health minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi will officiate at the launching ceremony at Hotel Equatoria in Kampala. The handbook, a guide to anti-retroviral therepay, was produced by the Community Health and Information Network (CHAIN) in
Over sh170m has been set aside for HIV/AIDS projects in Jinja and Kamuli districts this year. The funds will be used to pay school fees for children orphaned by the scourge and for the economic empowerment of people living with HIV, the director AIDS Orphans Education Trust, James Luwaga, said at Bugembe health centre
In July 2004, I watched the play Vagina Monologues in the Netherlands . In summary, the content of the play I saw was as follows: While holding imaginary mirrors between their legs, two women, wearing black leggings, talk to themselves, one after another, acting like they are examining their private parts. They narrate
JINJA - People living with HIV/AIDS have asked leaders to integrate them in the districts’ technical planning process for the distribution of anti-retro viral (ARV) drugs. They said this would make the process easier since they have more information about patients, adding that it would help them build capacity to fight
KAMPALA - Makerere University students living with HIV are to be provided free antiretroviral drugs. The drugs and other services are available at the university’s hospital, according to a circular issued by the hospital management. The services are available from 8:00am up to 12:00 noon. “Sexual and reproductive healt
DEVELOPMENT partners in Lira district should integrate their programmes to avoid duplication, the vice-chairperson has said, writes Joe Erem Oyie. Rebecca Otengo was last week opening a workshop at Lira Hotel, organised by Save the Children ( Uganda ). She expressed concern that some NGOs and “non-governmental individu
LOCAL authorities in the East African Lake Victoria region have resolved to champion HIV/AIDS campaigns in their districts to fight the epidemic. The authorities, under the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC), will encourage special programmes for the infected and affected persons as a way of co
Kagando Hospital in Kasese district will on February 19 start giving free anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to children living with HIV/AIDS. retired Bishop Zebedee Masereka, described by human rights activists in the Rwenzori region as a vanguard fighter in the war against HIV/AIDS, initiated the programme. We are striving
THE Ministry of Education is to cancel licences of teachers sexually involved with pupils and students. The minister, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, said any teacher found guilty this year will be dismissed. Any teacher found guilty will lose his teaching licence and his appointment will be revoked. Many teachers have
THE public should be sensitised on the use of ARVs to avoid the emergence of resistant viral strains, President Yoweri Museveni has said. Paul Kiwuuwa and Patrick Munyani report that Museveni said treatment literacy should be an integral part of all treatment programmes. Although anti-retroviral therapy has considerabl
THE Government has spent over sh57b on the rehabilitation and development of war-torn northern Uganda . The state minister for northern Uganda rehabilitation, Grace Akello, told the Government s weekly press briefing yesterday that the government had not ignored the region ravaged by LRA insurgency since 1987. Akel
CLAIMS that circumcised men do not contract HIV/AIDS even when they play unprotected sex are false, the Bubulo West MP has said, writes Vision Reporter. Wesonga Kamana said, I want to warn all people who are spreading the message that circumcised men do not contract HIV to stop it. They are endangering the lives of our
A senior church leader has asked the LCs to arrest all sex workers entering the district, targeting cotton-buying trading centres. These sex workers should be deported to their places of origin. They are the major distributors of HIV/AIDS. The LCs should save us, the Rev. Johnson Baguma of South Rwenzori Diocese said r
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS have asked leaders to include them on district technical planning processes for the distribution of anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs. They said this would make the process easier and help them build their capacity in the fight against the scourge. They said this in a memorandum read at a 10-day
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have launched a work-plan to promote knowledge on service delivery and advocating for appropriate care and treatment services at the grassroot, reports Elvis Basudde. The work-plan contains goals and objectives formulated during a workshop at TAL Cottages, Rubaga. The workshop was or
US ambassador Jimmy Kolker and state minister for local government Richard Nduhuura yesterday took HIV tests at the AIDS Information Centre s Raymond Baguma mobile home-to-home van. They were opening a three-day event dubbed America Days in Mbarara at the Lake View Regency Hotel. The programme is designed to give resid
SEVENTY Community HIV/AIDS Initiative sub-projects in Lira district have received sh229m. The money was released by the Uganda HIV/AIDS Control Project recently. The chief administration officer, Dr. P. Nsubuga, said 50% of the money had been released. The district HIV/AIDS focal point officer, Alfred Ogwal, said the f
AN AIDS charity in Kumi has received sh43m for sexual reproductive health training. The Aids Integrated Model (AIM) gave the money to Community unity for participatory Action on HIV/AIDS (COMPACT). COMPACT s programme officer Peter Olupot said this at a recent five-day adolescent sexual reproductive health workshop at
THE Government should enact bylaws to punish people who deliberately spread HIV, the Kumi RDC has said, writes a Vision Reporter. Charles Mubiru said he was unhappy with teachers who defile pupils and local councillors who benefit from rape cases by accepting goats, saying they should be punished. Mubiru was recently o
THE AIDS Information Centre (AIC) has adopted the home-to-home approach as an ideal strategy for the implementation of the voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) programme for HIV/AIDS. Mbale out-going AIC manager, Eriya Murana, said up to 5,174 clients were attended to in a pilot project implemented in two parishes i
THE parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS last week told Masindi district officials to reassure the youths that Engabo condoms are safe. Members of the committee who have been touring districts to assess the effectiveness of the government s anti-AIDS strategy, received reports that some youths have stopped using condoms
EDGARS (U) Ltd. has commissioned a weekly soccer development programme for Naguru Remand Home with the launching of a mini-stadium on Sunday. Assistant commissioner of children and youth Mondo Kyateeka opened the pitch praying it is used to pass over soccer skills as well as build confidence among the children. Edgars
President Museveni and a team of AIDS experts with divergent views have agreed on how to fight sexual transmission of HIV. Below is an abridged version of their paper published in The Lancet, an internationally respected medical journal The HIV/AIDS pandemic is an urgent health and growing humanitarian crisis, especial
THE Movement is losing many supporters to HIV/AIDS, Mukono district chairman Godfrey Ddamulira has said. Joel Ogwang writes that during celebrations to mark the district AIDS Day at Nagojje Primary School recently, Ddamulira urged the Government to channel the funds set aside for the 2006 presidential elections, to the
THE HIV/AIDS awareness campaign is to go to the streets of Kampala. The Kikuubo Twegatte HIV/AIDS chairman, Musisi Ssekaana, last week said the business community does not have time to attend seminars on the scourge hence the need to take the message to where they are. He was speaking at the launch of the campaigns at
Thirty-five employers provide anti-retrovirals (AIDS drugs) to their workers, the chairperson of the private sector, James Mulwana, has said. He said this at the launch of an HIV/AIDS manual for workplaces at the resident of the American Ambassador in Kololo on wednesday. The manual was developed by the private sector
Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi yesterday briefed Parliament on the major policies being pursued by the Government. He was answering a question by Rtd. Capt. Charles Byaruhanga on the major policies being implemented in the ministries. Among the policies he mentioned were macro-economic stability, modernisation of
A team of 30 American pediatricians are in the country to treat dental problems of children living with HIV/AIDS free of charge for two weeks. The doctors set up a dental camp at Mildmay Centre on Entebbe Road and another at the Tororo AIDS Project in Tororo district. Mildmay director of clinical services Dr. Emmanuel
MEN should spare time to teach their children good morals and behaviour, participants at a workshop on women and children s rights have recommended. This was said at a UNICEF-funded sensitisation workshop in Adyel division in Lira district. The participants appealed to men to always return home early to educate their c
A team of 30 American pediatricians are in the country to treat dental problems of children living with HIV/AIDS free of charge for two weeks. The doctors set up a dental camp at Mildmay Centre on Entebbe Road and another at the Tororo AIDS Project in Tororo district. Mildmay director of clinical services Dr. Emmanuel
Thirty-five employers provide anti-retrovirals (AIDS drugs) to their workers, the chairperson of the private sector, James Mulwana, has said. He said this at the launch of an HIV/AIDS manual for workplaces at the resident of the American Ambassador in Kololo on wednesday. The manual was developed by the private sector
THE out-going UNAIDS country coordinator has said Uganda would continue scoring massively in the response against HIV/AIDS if the country avoids complacency. Dr. Ruben del Prado, however, warned that funds meant for AIDS activities must be spent appropriately if the country is to turn around the tide of HIV/AIDS.
WITH all the TV and literature these days, children are exposed to all sorts of information about sex. It is hard to regulate what they listen to or watch. It is important children get introduced to issues to do with sex and sexuality from their parents. Parents are a moral and more believable authority over the childr
--Without gloves, she bathed the sick women, especially the bedridden ones and washed their beddings SHE is humble, perhaps too humble for her role. At first sight, you may think she is just another catholic woman. But when you hear her story, you realise behind her softness is a unique, courageous and hardworking woma
--Young boys play an intermediary role in the commercial sexual exploitation of young girls With tears streaming down her cheeks, Deborah (not real name), narrates her ordeal. This 15-year-old is a victim of the booming child sex trade in Idudi, Iganga. Idudi is a township 11 kilometres from Iganga on the Iganga-Tororo
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for a high level of professionalism and knowledge among journalists while executing their work. Journalists are duty-bound to maintain moral uprightness, and to ensure that they do not cause, in any way, undue anxiety or distress to anyone through irresponsible reporting and broadca
A total of 13,000 pregnant women living with HIV received treatment to enable them deliver HIV-negative babies last year, health minister Brig. Jim Muhwezi has said. Florence Nakaayi reports that Muhwezi said the babies were born free of the virus following the intervention of the national Prevention of Mother to Child
Uganda is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to defeat polio and has now embarked on fighting malaria, writes Williams Moi. Health state minister Capt. Mike Mukula, while launching the second round of mosquito net treatment at Atutur Hospital on Saturday, urged residents of Kumi and all Ugandas to support the Go
Two thousand people living with HIV/Aids are to receive free anti-retroviral New Vision - February 1, 2005 drugs from Uganda Cares. Rakai LC5 chairman Vincent Semakula said Uganda Cares had accepted to increase the number of beneficiaries from 400 last year to 2,000 this year. He was on Thursday addressing people wh
Week 32 Monday: I took an HIV and VDRL test. When I was expecting my first child I refused to do an HIV test. I think it was the way the idea was presented to me. The VDRL test was to check for STDs, because STDs can affect the baby. One of the most heartbreaking scenes I have had to endure is to see children down with
There are no tiebreakers at hospitals and health centres in the country. Tiebreakers are high quality and more specific kits used to carry out a third test in instances where two methods of testing for HIV/AIDS give contradictory results. The head of central public health laboratories in the health ministry, Guma Gaspa
MOTORCARE Uganda has been chosen by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to feature in its forthcoming Business for Development series. The television series on the US-based CNBC focuses on private businesses, making a difference in developing countries. Eight international firms, including
THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is giving out sh9b to civil society organisations for HIV/AIDS and education projects. The 88 family and community action grants will be channelled through the Uganda Programme for Human and Holistic Development (UPHOLD), a USAID project.
IREMANGOMA Charles Wesley Mumbere has cautioned the people of Kasese against behaviour that could lead them into contracting HIV/AIDS. Mumbere said this during a service at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Kasese town on Sunday. He told the congregation that the Obusinga (kingdom) is a God-fearing institution that respe
BRITISH teen band, McFly, staged an impromptu concert in the Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb last week. The band, nominated as this year s Britain s top pop band, was in Kamwokya to film a documentary for the BBC and British charity, Comic Relief, for this year s upcoming Red Nose Day on March 11, 2005. The boy-band, whose
THE Lions international Director for Africa and parts of Asia arrived in Uganda on Sunday, urging local clubs to increase their humanitarian activities in HIV/AIDS support projects. Vara Prasad asked local Lions clubs to work more with the Government to help people affected by HIV/AIDS. Local clubs are doing work
AN Acholi housewife was among 594 women circumcised in Kapchorwa district under the Sabiny ritual that ended on December 31. Data from all the district s 49 parishes showed that the number of women who underwent the ritual dropped from 621 in the 2002 circumcision season. The data showed that 261 women were saved from
AS the world waited with bated breath what George Walker Bush s new agenda would be in the next four years, the American media was awash with speculations regarding what he would or would not do for fellow Americans and the rest of humanity. The other day an American journalist with Voice of America(VOA) called me to s
Medical workers must clear the negative image connected with fake laboratory results and commercialising services, the Kabarole LC5 chairman has said. Augustine Kayonga said this recently while closing a regional workshop on strengthening laboratory services, at St. Joseph s Inn, Virika in Fort Portal. People have a lo
The demand for anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in Uganda is far higher than the available resources, health ministry officials said on Wednesday. They said they were overwhelmed by the increase in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS reporting daily to the Infectious Diseases Institute at Mulago. The number has s
DONORS funding HIV/AIDS programmes have been asked to facilitate only productive projects. The US-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) president, Michael Weinstein, said the AIDS global fund should work closely with people living with AIDs instead of setting up buildings that never take off. Weinstein who led officia
He is rich and handsome. One of the girls is a young and restless Mugisu at Makerere University. The other is a strict bully of a lawyer, who can even tell from which region she hails? Another is a gentle Muganda doctor, who will caress you by merely looking and talking to you. There is also the too-beautiful-to-be-tru
Pastor, community advocate, humanitarian, author, songwriter, playwright, conference speaker and broadcaster, Bishop Thomas D. Jakes, Sr. visited Uganda on Tuesday. Sebidde Kiryowa presents the man who has been likened to evangelist Billy Graham and Dr Martin Luther King I m glad to be back home. I feel like Joseph (th
THE UN agency for AIDS ( UNAIDS ) chief, Peter Piot, has urged the Government to continue promoting condoms alongside abstinence as the national prevention strategy against the pandemic. Piot, who is visiting Uganda , said UNAIDS would continue promoting the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condoms) strategy in Uganda.
PRISONS authorities are stuck with Engabu condoms which the government recently declared defective. The condoms, supplied by the Ministry of Health, were meant for staff and trainees at the Staff College in Luzira. Some of our staff must have used the condoms believing they were having protected sex. We do not know how
RENOWNED American evangelist Bishop TD Jakes has hailed President Yoweri Museveni s efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS. Jakes, who arrived on Tuesday at the invitation of the President and the First Lady, said while other countries were being devastated by the HIV pandemic, Uganda was making progress against it. I have
At least 30% of doctors flee the country every year for greener pastures in the diaspora, Ministry of Health officials have said. Prof. Francis Omaswa, the Director General of Health Services, said this yesterday while meeting a visiting health delegation led by UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. While meeting H
The Aids Information Centre (AIC) has donated three motorbikes to the Karamoja region for mobilising the karimojong for voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. The Honda Excel motorbikes worth sh24m were recently handed over to Moroto, Kotido and Nakapiripirt districts by the Soroti regional AIC manager, Peter Kahukha. The Moroto
Ululations, singing and dancing by people living with HIV/AIDS of the Mbuya Outreach project yesterday welcomed the visiting UNAIDS executive director. Peter Piot joined the members at Kinawataka, a Kampala suburb, for a meal. We are very much impressed and moved by what you have done here. You have shown that the solu
THE craze for money by parents has led to the rise in defilement in Kampala, the Police have said. Erasmus Byekwaso, the Criminal Investigations Department chief at Jinja Road Police Station, said, Research has revealed that some parents entice men to defile their daughters to extort money from them. Byekwaso on Monday
IDEAL health care doesn t only involve tablets and injections. Research has shown that people will rush to clinics where staff are friendlier, more willing to listen and sympathise with them. According to Patrick Mwase, a health Psychologist for Makerere University, Patients who often converse with their doctors heal q
GOVERNMENT officials and environmental activists yesterday clashed over the proposed spraying of DDT, writes Gerald Tenywa. Kenneth Kakuru, an environmental lawyer who heads Green Watch, an NGO, said the Government took a position on spraying DDT before formulating a policy and undertaking environmental studies. Spea
Sironko district should fight corruption in the implementation of the community road project, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has said. The DANIDA programme officer for the road sector programme support II project, Steven Ajalu, said on Tuesday that cases of corruption would lead to the withdrawal
Last week, the Jinja District Health Educator, Boniface Ntalo, advised parents to always talk to their children about sex as one of the ways to prevent the spread of AIDS. This advice has become a common song, sang by health workers as well as politicians. However, the advice-givers usually assume that parents know how
THE CHURCH should encourage people to use condoms if abstinence has failed, the senior presidential adviser in charge of welfare, George Sikubabo Kyeyune, has said. If the church has failed to get results from its advocacy for abstinence, it should start encouraging people to use condoms, Sikubabo said. Sikubabo was ch
Between 70,000 and 80,000 workers die of AIDS annually, an official from the trade and industry ministry has said. Nineteen percent of workers are in the informal sector, while between 10% and 14% are in the formal sector. However, between 70,000 and 80,000 of these are dying of AIDS, the ministry s commissioner for in
Who said it does not pay to be chaste? If not, celebrated local gospel singer Betty Nakibuuka is an exception. Nakibuuka, who has been a Born Again Christian since she was 16, got married to husband John Senyonjo at 24 whilst still a virgin. The singer recently scooped a lucrative deal to African Child Foundation, a ch
When I asked Titi about her plans for the new year, her response was instant; I want to be the best female radio presenter for 2005. Titi, who is famed for the Nsonyiwa faaza hit, recently took up a job at Beat FM, where she presents Genda n omulembe between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Her show features popular African music a
Jeffrey D. Sachs is professor of economics and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He says this year, the world s richest countries should do more to help the poor. It is time for new year s resolutions, and this year s are obvious. When the Millennium started, world leaders pledged to seek peace, t
PARENTS should educate their children and prepare them for marriage, the Presidency minister said on Saturday, writes Bizimungu Kisakye. Kirunda Kivejinja said getting children into marriage would enable the Government to fight the HIV/AIDS. Ensure that your children marry soon after completing studies. This will ensur
Due to challenges of the modern world, an increasing number of women are not able to breastfeed their babies as required. Suzan omony, a working mother, says most of the time she feeds her four-month-old baby on tinned formula milk and mashed irish potatoes. The mashed irish was introduced at the fourth month as weanin
Seven year old Dorcus Adoko was admitted with a bad cough, which brought forth pus and blood. She had boils all over her skin and wounds on her gums. She languished in Lira Hospital without healing. It was only in May 2002 that Kemigisha Beatrice, a botanist, visited the area and taught people about the virtues of mush
IGANGA - Ten families in the town council have received sh4m from the Global fund under the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa initiative. RDC Perez Katamba recently handed over the money to orphans, widows and vulnerable children at the town council offices.
THE Movement is here to stay and those who defected have no alternative but return, the National Political Commissar (NPC), Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, has said. He said, I know the movement is getting stronger and my predictions of the results of the 2006 presidential elections are that we shall win with over 90%. President
SOROTI is the leading district in crime since the second half of last year, a Police report has said. According to the report from the mid-eastern region released to the press on Friday at Soroti Police Station, regional CID officer Hillary Odoch said out of the five serious crimes, Soroti registered the highest number
PARLIAMENT is to spend over sh8.2b on a development plan. The project is under the Parliament of Uganda Strategic investment and Development Plan (PSIDP) for the years 2004/05 to 2006/7. The funds will be jointly provided by the government of Uganda and Parliament’s donor group. The government will provide sh2.9b a
Internet marriages promote immorality, the Bishop of Namirembe Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Balagadde Ssekadde, has said. Ssekadde said such marriages promote immorality, especially if one of the partner is a non-believer. For a Christian to wed someone who is a non-believer is not right. It is even worse to be joined with a
Dr. James Nsaba Buturo recently blasted both the local and international media on the way they are covering the True Love Waits programme. True Love Waits is a programme that promotes primary and secondary virginity as a means of fighting HIV/AIDS. It is the brainchild of Janet Museveni, the First Lady. According to Bu
Companies which supplied suspected defective Engabu condoms, have an outstanding tender to supply 80 million more, reports John Odyek. The Government awarded the latest US$2m (sh3.5b) tender last April to Stephan Buchman and Guangzhou Rubber Factory of China , to supply the condoms. Buchman and Guangzhou had an ear
Do you notice any change on me? This is the question I dread. But my wife always ambushes me with it. It usually startles my brains into a micro-scanning that produces nothing, I can safely declare different. But in the meantime, I reply; Yes, of course, you think I am blind? And my wife now knows that when I hurry to
Rugarama health centre in Kabale district is to receive hospital status, reports Darious Magara. The health centre management committee chairman, Dr. Ananias Muhunde on Monday said the ministry of health had approved the change. This was during a ground-breaking ceremony performed by Bank of Uganda go
About two months ago, I returned to my university residence in Grahamstown, South Africa after an exhausting task and found a group of people from different African countries watching African Magic on DStv. It broadcasts movies, soaps and other related programmes about Africa. The characters in these programmes are Afr
LAST year would have ended on a negative note had health workers gone ahead with their nation-wide sit down strike over poor remuneration. Thanks to President Yoweri Museveni s timely intervention. After the April 14, 2004, meeting with the Uganda Medical Association and health minister Brig. Jim Muhwezi, Museveni conv
AMERICAN Ambassador Jimmy Kolker has called for resumption of peace talks between the government and the Lord s Resistance Army (LRA). Efforts to have the peace talks broke down last week, ending 47 days of ceasefire to allow the LRA to talk peace. We are disappointed that efforts to bring peace in the north by the end
Rwenzori region will receive a sh300m grant under the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria to support orphans and other vulnerable children. Kamwenge district woman MP Ida mehangye said this at the end-of-year party of Parents Concern, a local NGO, at its offices in Fort Portal, Kabarole district on Friday. Mehang
THE Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has blamed the collapse of the face-to-face peace talks between the Government and the LRA rebels on arrogance and unrealistic demands from the Government. FDC described as impossible President Yoweri Museveni s demand that all rebels assemble in one place before the talks. FDC wo
CHILDREN Vision Uganda (CVU), a local non-governmental organisation, has started a child-to-child HIV counselling programme. The director, Joseph Mukasa, on Sunday said children easily found comfort from their peers and readily accepted their condition, if they were HIV positive. Promoting sexual abstinence among
AFTER everything she has gone through, Hadijah Namalwa is not afraid to pull down her dress to show me. I look with anticipation as she peels the straps of her pink shiny dress off her bony shoulders. Her dark spotted full moon breasts peep at me through her white lace bra. She pulls the dress further down to her waist
Teachers who defile pupils should be hanged, President Yoweri Museveni has proposed. Defilement is easy to stop by hanging a teacher on the akabaawo (wood) in Luzira Prison. Hanging will serve as a deterrent to these defiler teachers, Museveni said. He was on Thursday addressing a youth conference at Emmanuel Cathedral
The Ndorwa West MP, Steven Bamwanga, has vowed to fight the clause in the domestic relations bill which gives women more powers and encourages divorce. He lamented the lack of respect for culture and embracing western values that could cause havoc in marriage if such laws were passed. Bamwanga said nature gave women mo
THE United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) has donated five motorcycles, 50 bicycles and 30 traditional birth attendants kits to Rwenzori health and Sustainable development Fund. The organisation is based in Bukonzo West county in Kasese district. Handing over the items on Tuesday, the UNFPA country repr
THOUGH the First Lady, Janet Museveni and other government officials are advocating for abstinence to combat HIV/AIDS, the use of condoms should not be overlooked, a medical officer has said. The director of Mbarara community hospital, Nathan Karema, was on Thursday addressing an end-of-year party for the staff at the
WHEN she noticed a huge brownish blood patch on her only school uniform, 12-year-old Anna (not real names) got scared. She immediately ran out of class with a crowd of boys following her, hounding and making fun of her. Confused and embarrassed, she found her way home and for the next five days, she did not attend scho
SCHOOL fires, violent strikes, ghost pupils and high dropout rate in primary schools overshadowed the achievements in the education sector during the year 2004. With over 40 fires, the highest ever recorded in schools in a single year, new strategies have to be designed to tame this new found method students now use to
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.