Kampala - ENTRY to a Post-Test Club only requires an HIV test and once admitted, members receive support, health-education and the ability to tell others the advantages of testing. Before coming here, I used to fear, I thought people would laugh at me, 38-year-old Murajib said, adding, When I come here, I feel free.
Kampala - THE Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) has donated sh10.1b to help combat HIV/AIDS among the fishing communities of Lake Victoria basin. The fisheries component will be implemented by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO). The group and the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF
Kampala - AN art exhibition for primary and secondary schools coloured the World AIDS Day in Masindi. The three-day exhibition, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, drew participants from all over the district. The Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) staff working with the district education department organised an art c
Kampala - PERSONS infected with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis as well as those at risk of contracting the diseases, will access free services. The American Hope Charities (AHC), a Christian charity based in the US, will soon set up mobile clinics and invest in other HIV/AIDS programmes in Uganda . Speaking recently,
Kampala - IN the early 1980s, Kasensero landing site became a tourist attraction for the wrong reason. It was the first locality in Uganda to be hit by AIDS. People travelled from as far as Kampala to the landing site in Rakai district at the border with Tanzania to see AIDS patients. Today, their lifestyle
Kampala - THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday signed an agreement with the USA to strengthen operation of the Peace Corps in Uganda . The agreement replaced one signed 46 years ago and it allowed the expansion of the Peace Corps in the country. According to a statement from the foreign affairs ministry, the agree
Kampala - THE Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders Initiative in HIV/AIDS in Lower Local government (AMICALL) has donated items to AIDS orphans. The items which were distributed by the Moyo Town Council LCIII chairperson, Mary Mania, included sewing machines, goats, pigs, poultry and foodstuffs. Mania said they wer
Kampala - FIDA (U) in partnership with Plan Uganda and Ausaid has been implementing a project Legal Rights for People Affected by HIV and AIDS (PAHA) in Kawempe Division. The project is an effort to reduce community vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in Kawempe community. The program is in its fourth year of implementation
Kampala - THE National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda (NUDIPU), has received sh1.4b from DANIDA to start an HIV/AIDS project. Part of the funds will finance a media campaign to highlight the plight of disabled persons in accessing health services. Speaking at the launch of the campaign in Kamwokya, recently, Chris
Kampala - THE sky is full of dark clouds, which look solid enough to send a heavy downpour. But Fatima, a vendor in Kasese town market, looks unbothered. She has to work hard to sustain herself and her HIV-positive son, alongside three other children. Fatima tested HIV-positive nine years ago. A few months later, docto
Kampala - THE World Food Programme (WFP) has urged the Government to enhance food security to fight HIV AIDS. Addressing participants at a national dissemination workshop on AIDS, Livelihoods and Food Security, Alix Loriston, WFP s deputy country director, said high malnutrition rates affect the level of drug adherence
Kampala - THE Ministry of Health is planning to roll out circumcision free-of-charge countrywide as a preventive strategy against HIV/AIDS, Dr Sam Zaramba, Director General, Health Services has said. We are currently conducting a needs-assessment and consulting key stakeholders in the area of HIV/AIDS policy and servic
Kampala - SATURDAY, December 1 was World AIDS Day. Uganda has been at the forefront of fighting HIV/AIDS and became the first African country to reduce HIV infection rates. By 2002, the rate had come down to 6.2% from 18% in 1992. This success story is attributed to strong political leadership spearheaded by President
Kampala - THE AIDS Bicycle Challenge, held on December 1, took Kampala by storm. The rally, organised by Pastor Joshua Mugabi of Kampala Pentecostal Church, was one of the church s activities to mark the World AIDS Day. The race attracted over 50 cyclists, many of them from the Cycling Association of
Kampala - UGANDA faces the challenge of dealing with cross-generational sex among children living with HIV, James Kinobe, the youth and children affairs minister, has said. Cross-generational sex means a sexual relationship between a young girl and a much older man, with an age difference of 10 years or more. In the pa
Kampala - LEADERS should encourage the use of local herbs in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, John Ssebaana Kizito has suggested. Ssebaana, the patron of Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders in Africa to fight HIV/AIDS (AMICAALL), urged medical personnel to jointly work with traditional doctors in the fight against the A
Kampala - FIVE-YEAR-OLD Joy does not know why she has to take pills daily. But her mother, Juliet Kugonza of Kasese town, has taught her never to forget. Joy is one of the 50,000 or so children under 14 years who are living with HIV/AIDS. In Africa, studies show that without proper treatment, one in three newborns infe
Kampala - ONE in three adults in the world s top democracies say they know little about AIDS, a disease that has killed more than 28 million people,a poll showed on Thursday. But the survey, carried out for World Vision, found that in the seven countries, 44% of respondents would willingly pay more taxes to combat AIDS
Kampala - UGANDA has notably reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS over the last two decades, dropping from 18% in 1991 to 6.4% in 2004. However, HIV/AIDS prevalence remains high in urban areas at 10.1% compared to 5.7% in rural areas, according to National HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioural Survey 2004/2005. The study indicates urban
Kampala - DRUG-RESISTANT TB and HIV have merged into a double-barrelled epidemic sweeping across sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent report. The report called for urgent measures to curb the spread. Such measures include: fast diagnosis of TB in HIV; new methods to map HIV and TB hotspots and screening to identif
Kampala - A new drug could ease a dilemma that many HIV-positive mothers faced, a new study reported recently. Previously, a dose of niverapine during labour reduced the chances of the infant getting HIV by 40%. But if the newborn got infected, they were more likely to acquire a strain of HIV that was resistant to drug
Kampala - The AIDS scourge has increased the number of child labourers in the country, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development has said. Syda Bbumba yesterday said the largest number of working children, who also head households, were orphaned by AIDS. She was briefing the media ahead of the World AIDS da
Kampala - About 500 couples turned up for free counselling and voluntary HIV testing at the AIDS Information Centre headquarters in Mengo-Kisenyi on Monday. The exercise, dubbed Couple Week , runs till the end of the month and is targeting over 2,000 couples. It is part of the activities organised to commemorate the Wo
THE education ministry and the German Promotion of Employment-Oriented Vocational and Technical Training (PEVOT) programme, has come up with a new strategy for combating HIV/AIDS among young people. The New Start in the Fight against AIDS follows the success of a board game, Make a New Start Today, launched at the Worl
Kampala - SHE may be infected with HIV, but that has not stopped her from achieving her long-term ambition to excel in life. Sylvia Nakibuule, 27, caused a stir when she went to WBS Television and made a public declaration about her HIV-positive status. I chose to announce my status in order to give a face to HIV, espe
Kampala - A network of civil society organisations against HIV/AIDS has called for the universal access to ARVs. The Commonwealth Action Group on HIV was concerned that globally, 60% of the people living with HIV were citizens of the bloc and the majority of them (75%) did not have access to treatment. Vulnerable citiz
OF the 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide, 25 million are in the Commonwealth. The number rises by five million each year, Commonwealth delegates and stakeholders were told at an HIV/AIDS workshop at Hotel Africana on Monday. The theme, HIV prevention Education as a Tool for Social Transformation , lo
IN 2006, almost two thirds (63%) of all persons infected with HIV were living in sub-Saharan Africa, or 24.7 million. An estimated 2.8 million adults and children became infected with HIV in 2006, more than in all other regions of the world combined. The 2.1 million AIDS deaths in sub-Saharan Africa represent 72% of gl
Kampala - Unexpectedly high levels of HIV infection are being found in adults seeking treatment for malaria in Uganda . More than 30% of adults presenting at district health centres with uncomplicated falciparum malaria were co-infected with HIV. Clinical treatment for malaria was three times more likely in adults with
Kampala - New research findings from Uganda cast doubt on the widely held assumption that internally displaced persons and refugees are more likely to be HIV-infected than people in ostensibly more stable settings. Acholiland, in northern Uganda, is home to an estimated two million internally displaced persons. At just
EXCESSIVE consumption of alcohol, drugs abuse, HIV/AIDS and obesity plague millions of youth worldwide, the Pan Commonwealth Youth Caucus has said. Speaking at the Youth Forum at Entebbe, chairperson Baker Mobafa of Trinidad & Tobago
Kampala - THE Queen will interact with people living with HIV/AIDS at the Mildmay Centre during her visit to Uganda next week. The centre is located in Lweza on Entebbe Road, 12km south of Kampala. According to the British press, this will be Queen Elizabeth s first visit to an AIDS clinic. In a recent interview, John
Kampala - The high rate of new HIV/AIDS infections is due to laxity and recklessness among the youths, the director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission has said. Apuuli Kihumuro said many people, especially the youth, no longer feared HIV/AIDS and were engaging in irresponsible behaviour like having unprotected sex.
Kampala - BEING HIV-positive is bad enough, but facing the fact that your child is also infected is heartbreaking. This is why Mega sought a quick fix in the name of prayer for a miracle healing, not knowing she was sending her five-year-old child to an early grave. I was tired of everything; the queues at hospitals, a
ACCIDENTS, HIV/AIDS and cancer have increased oral health problems in the country, the Uganda Dental Association, has said. Dr Francis Lacor, the association s president, said tooth decay, gum diseases, swelling of the jaws (tumours), HIV/AIDS oral manifestations and trauma form the bulk of their admissions. Most
Kampala - THE three-day TASO central region music festival, held in Mityana, recently, proved that theatre is a very strong tool of communication and can effectively disseminate anti-AIDS messages. TASO Jinja, emerged best in the music, dance and drama festival organised by the AIDS Support Organisation (TASO)
Kampala - ALTHOUGH Uganda s HIV prevalence has dropped to 6.4% from 18% in the early 1990s, there is still a high number of people living with HIV/AIDS in urban areas, accounting for 12%. Children account for about 14% of AIDS deaths, but only about 6% of them receive antiretroviral therapy (ART). The Ministry of Healt
Kampala - UNBELIEVABLE! These could be the only kind words from the ethics and integrity state minister, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, to homosexuals. He has come across as anti-gay on many occasions, prompting the gay-rights activists to push for his blacklisting. They were claiming that Buturo was violating the human right
Kampala - Sarah Nankya and Dick Kayemba were HIV/AIDS counsellors, but they were devastated on discovering they were HIV-positive in 2001. To them, life was not worth living. However, through the Market Vendors AIDS Project (MAVAP), the couple has been given a new lease on life, writes Flavia Nakagwa When I tested HIV-
Kampala - EVELYN Akello has won this year s fifth annual Dr. Matthew Lukwiya Memorial Award worth $1,000 (about sh1.7m). She was recognised for her outstanding work in HIV/AIDS prevention. Akello, a former Murchison Bay Prison Hospital administrator, participated in the development of the Rakai district HIV/AIDS strate
MANGERI left her Ajono pot and headed to her neighbour s house. She asked Atim, her former pupil and the neighbour s daughter to come and help her carry food from her compound as it was threatening to rain. At Mangeri s home, which is only a stone-throw away, Atim did not find any food in the compound. Instead, Mangeri
Kampala - EVERY time you say bye and continue to shoot a photo of him waving back, he says: Bye bisuba, (meaning bye liar). Reagan Mujuni is only coming to three years yet he knows the difference between a liar and an honest person. Mujuni, who makes friends quickly, is not only known for his high intellect. He is so h
Kampala - THE Joint Clinical Research Centre has resumed operations after it was gutted by fire last week. All our laboratories are intact. Our Antiretrovirals (ARVs) and other necessities were not affected. It would have been a disaster if the fire had entered the building. There were about 25 critically ill patients
Kampala - SAVANNAH Sunrise Clinic (SAS) has introduced a new curriculum aimed at reducing HIV infection in Uganda to less than 1%. The Immunisation by Education Strategy (IBES) was launched at Hotel Africana, recently. The strategy has taken in more than 18,000 pupils from 36 primary schools in Kampala. We have ha
ORAL health experts and researchers at the recent 21st Annual Scientific Conference, have confirmed the high prevalence of oral lesions associated with HIV/AIDS in south western Uganda . Francis Tirwomwe and E. Agwu, researchers at Kampala International University s western campus in Bushenyi, revealed that a total of
Kampala - THE military court martial in Amuru district on Friday sentenced a UPDF soldier to death by hanging for murdering his girlfriend. Private Denis Omona killed Beatrice Akio after he accused her of infecting him and his wife with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The UPDF 4th division court martial sitting at the
Kampala - THE German development bank, KfW, has donated $4.3m for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and reduction of maternal and infant mortality in western Uganda . The grant is expected to benefit 255,000 people in the next four years, including 110,000 mothers and 35,000 patients with sexually t
A UPDF soldier, who killed his girlfriend for allegedly infecting him with HIV, has appeared before the Court Martial at Parongo displaced persons camp in Amuru district. Activities at the camp came to a standstill as residents turned up to witness the trial. It is alleged that Pte. Dennis Omona Anywar fired 32 bullets
Kampala - THE Uganda AIDS Commission is implementing a new strategy aimed at reducing the HIV/AIDS spread by over 40%. The approach will involve boosting the ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use) strategy with a patient treatment-based approach. The proposal, contained in the national HIV/AIDS strategic plan,
CAN you imagine a world without HIV/AIDS? You and I can be part of the solution to make this happen. This is what Savannah Sunrise (SAS) Foundation president, Dr. Robert Muhumuza, and his team, some of whom came from the US, said over dinner at Hotel Africana, recently. The dinner was meant to raise funds for SAS proje
Kampala - THE Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Population Service International, has distributed over 133,000 basic health care kits and trained 315 health service providers and peer educators countrywide. The basic care package was mainly for persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families. It is designed t
Kampala - OVER 200 Parliament staff were tested for HIV/AIDS at the Parliament recently. The Presidential Guard Brigade, some MPs, the parliamentary Police, Roko Construction workers, journalists and other non-parliamentary staff also took advantage of the free HIV/AIDS tests. Parliamentary spokesperson Helen Kawesa sa
Kampala - AIDS does not only travel with truckers along African highways; it flies business class with men in dark suits, crawls into marriages and lurks in playgrounds. It smiles at you everyday at work. These are the words of Deborah Williams, an AIDS activist from Tobago . Witho
Kampala - DESPITE years of intense media coverage and community discussions about HIV in Uganda , the results show that the battle against the scourge is far from over. A survey, The Straight Talk Campaign in Uganda: Impact of Mass Media Initiative, conducted by the Population Council, found a significant correlation b
Kampala - PREVIOUSLY, you had to wait for at least three months after exposure to know your HIV status. But now, you can know your HIV status after two weeks, thanks to the improved method of testing at the Uganda Virus Institute in Entebbe. Dr Gerald Sebulime of HIV Reference Laboratory, says with the modified and imp
Kampala - THERE is need to adopt more action-oriented initiatives towards fighting the HIV/AIDS scourge. According to Prof. Joep Lange, from the Academic Medical Centre in the Netherlands : More needs to be done in tackling the issues in HIV treatment and prevention research. Speaking at the launch of the INTERACT
REKNOWNED musician Angella Katatumba, famous saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa and a Kampala-based acapella group G3U will perform in a live concert at the unveiling of a new HIV strategy by the Savannah Sunrise Foundation (SAS) at Hotel Africana this evening at six o clock. The Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, will be
Kampala - OVER 9,000 orphans and vulnerable children with HIV/Aids are to receive free treatment from Mildmay Jajja s Home this year, the vice-president of Mildmay International, Ruth Sims, has said. Sims said more than 1,000 children had been successfully rehabilitated from the home and some of them had joined higher
Kampala - A UGANDAN scientist, Dr. Abdullah Kirumira, has won an award from the London-based The Economist magazine for his research on HIV/Aids. Kirumira is the founder and chief executive officer of BioMedica Diagnostics, a medical biotechnology company based in Windsor, Canada . He will be recognised for invent
A UPDF soldier attached to the 43rd Battalion has been arrested for killing his wife. While at a party at Parabongo displaced persons camp in Amuru district on Saturday, Private Denis Omona alleged that his wife, Auma Margaret Akio, had infected him with HIV and shot her. Lt. Chris Magezi, the northern army spokesperso
Kampala - CLOSE to sh700m has been recovered from individuals and institutions implicated in the misappropriation of the Global Fund to fight Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The biggest single refund was from dfcu Bank, which paid back sh455m. The refund was apparently the commission paid to an individual who linke
Kampala - PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said some people within the Government tried to sabotage the construction of Africa s first plant to manufacture the full triple therapy combination of anti-retroviral medicines. I supported the construction of this plant immediately because we have a big number of our people wit
Kampala - SOME healthworkers attached to antiretroviral therapy (ART) behave unprofessionally. They abuse people living with HIV/Aids (PLWHAs) and ask them for money. This is contained in a report on a research carried out in Rakai to understand the gravity of limited access to antiretroviral therapy services. This no
Kampala - The ban on buveera has opened up new opportunities. For instance friends receiving HIV care at the Mulago-based Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) have now started making paper bags for sale. We have 10,000 people here and they can make a lot of polythene bags, so they have started learning, says Prof. Keith
Kampala - A year ago it was a potato garden. Now the 15-acre plot is hosting a hi-tech pharmaceutical factory, the first of its kind in Africa. The factory, to be commissioned by President Yoweri Museveni on Monday, will produce the full triple therapy combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, something that has not b
Kampala - THE National Social Security Fund (NSSF) plans to allow people living with HIV/Aids to access their money even when they have not reached the retirement age. The managing director, David Jamwa, yesterday said this was part of the fund s five-year strategic plan. It is one of our responsibilities to provide a
Kampala - Today is Paediatric HIV Advocacy Day. Statistics in Uganda show that 25,000 babies are born with HIV every year and about 110,000 are living with it. More than 50,000 children living with HIV are in immediate need of medication, but less than one in five are receiving it. HIV testing and treatment for childre
THE U.S. government has increased funding for HIV/Aids programmes to $280m (about sh485b). This is an increase by $30b from last year. The revelation was made by the U.S. ambassador, Steven Browning, at the opening of Ten Tables Restaurant in Masaka recently. Uganda is among the highest beneficiaries from the HIV/Aids
PEOPLE living with HIV/Aids in Mubende district no longer have to travel to Kampala for a CD4 count test, HIV testing and antiretroviral drugs. The Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) recently opened a sh120m antiretroviral treatment clinical centre in the district. The centre will also aid residents of the neighbour
MARTHA Naigwe was born with HIV. On Tuesday she will celebrate her 23rd birthday. Never did she know she would reach this age. It is just God It s a miracle, says Martha. Many of my friends with whom I used to get treatment at the Mildmay Centre have died. Everytime I heard that someone had died, I would think I was ne
Kampala - A FACTORY worth $30m (about sh48b) to produce Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) will be commissioned in October in Luzira, a city suburb, an official has said. Emmanuel Katongole, the managing director of Quality Chemicals, said the plant, which is the first in the region, will manufacture ARVs, anti-malarial table
Kampala - PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has warned the Uganda People s Defence Forces against the AIDS scourge. Passing out 2,231 HIV-free recruits who completed a nine-month course at the Kaweweta Military School, 291km northwest of Kampala on Thursday, Museveni cautioned the soldiers against reckless living. This is
IF fire broke out in a building, the Government would not rush for the nearest exit! It would need to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate the fire, organise debates on whether to put out the fire or evacuate the building, consult with partners on how best to react, build consensus, write a proposal on the wa
Northwest Medical Teams, an NGO based in the US, has constructed a youth centre in Lira district worth sh200m. The facility at Ogur sub-county will be used for HIV/AIDS testing and counselling, testing young pregnant mothers, screening for sexually transmitted infections and dissemination of information on the dangers
Kampala - PEOPLE living with HIV/Aids have appealed to the Government to increase the accessibility of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in order to live more positive, productive and prolonged lives. In a report read out at the 11th annual general meeting of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Jinja on Saturday, the clients
Kampala - NATIONAL Medical Stores (NMS) has assured people living with HIV/Aids that expired Anti Retroviral drugs (ARVs) worth sh1.2b will be destroyed before the end of this month. Albert Kalangwa, the acting head of stores, marketing and operations, said arrangements to destroy the drugs are in the final stages. Amo
Kampala - AT least 4,800 people living with HIV/Aids in Gulu district have received food supplements from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Vision. Kimera Mutebi, The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) district manager, recently said 7,920 people had registered for the programme. He added that 2,500 people wil
COUNCILLORS of Gulu Municipal Council have been urged to guard against HIV/AIDS in order to save the council money that would otherwise go into meeting burial expenses. The councillor for Pece division, Charles Okwakalwak, sounded the warning during a one-day workshop on HIV/AIDS at the workplace. The workshop, which t
THE National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (NACWOLA) has urged the Government to investigate health service providers who stigmatise HIV-positive women in internally displaced persons camps. We call upon the Government to investigate health providers who are stressing people living with HIV/AIDS in
THE Gulu LC5 chairman, Norbert Mao, has asked the Police to investigate reports that Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Spain has been administering HIV/AIDS and TB drugs that are not yet approved by the health ministry. The Gulu district executive committee recently suspended the activities of the international NGO at Lalo
MBARARA mayor, Wilson Tumwine, has advised political leaders and counsellors to keep condoms in public toilets to save more people from contracting HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases. Tumwine said many people, especially the youth were afraid of picking condoms from public places and in hospitals where th
THE youth have been warned against engaging in immoral acts that could expose them to HIV/Aids. Speaking at the seventh graduation of the Kamwokya Vocational Training Centre, the country representative of the German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association, Albert Burgi, said HIV/Aids hinders the youth from practici
THE Aids Information Centre in Jinja has acquired a new HIV/Aids testing machine. The digitalised and computerised machine will be used to carry out CD4/CD8 tests. Paul Oboth, the centre laboratory technician, last week said the machine can establish the level of immune suppression of an HIV-positive person. The inform
A man accused of conning people living with HIV/AIDS has been remanded to Kirinya Prison in Jinja. Edward Kafuko, the deputy director of Living With AIDS in the Community, a non-government organisation (NGO), was arraigned before the Grade One Magistrate last week. Court heard that Kafuko opened the organisation in May
GOOD nutrition is important in fighting HIV progression to Aids but, alone, it cannot fight HIV. According to SciDev.Net, a science publication, improved nutrition cannot substitute medication to treat people infected with HIV. SciDev quoted a report released August 22 by the Academy of Science of Sout
I AM 19 years and was born HIV-positive. I became pregnant and my boyfriend abandoned me after learning that I had Aids, said Annette Kyosiimire, an HIV-positive mother. My mother died of Aids when I was still a child. I never stayed with my father. I m currently staying with my step-father, who is also HIV-positive.
HEALTH workers in Kaberamaido district were on Friday overwhelmed by the high turn up of people wanting to take voluntary HIV/Aids tests. Hundreds of residents in long queues struggled to be tested during the exercise carried out by the Population Services International (PSI) Uganda at the launch of the Basic Care
SOMEONE said a mixed feeling is when you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your new car. Somehow you may want her to crush to death but still you do not want her to do so in your new car. That is how I feel about those masked Ugandans who wanted us to recognise their presence as men who have sex with men (M
Uganda telecom (utl) recently embarked on a mission to help children in northern Uganda who are living with HIV/Aids. Over 150,000 children are living with HIV/Aids, about 20,000 of whom were infected through mother-to-child transmission, As part of its corporate social responsibility, utl s Annual Leadership Series
BEHAVIOURAL change is the key to the fight against HIV/Aids, the Catholic Secretariat adviser, Ronald Kamara, has said. Campaigns that support the usage of condoms, male circumcision and usage of vaginal microbicides to prevent HIV infections are likely to be counter-productive. We should not embrace all campaigns with
PASTORS who discourage people living with HIV/Aids from taking ARVs have been criticised by a health expert. I am not happy with pastors who tell our clients that if they get saved, they can be healed of HIV/Aids. Get saved but please do not stop taking your drugs, Peter Sebanja, a director with The Aids Support Organi
UGANDA is among five countries selected to participate in a $27m (sh46b) tuberculosis research project. The five-year research, funded by the American National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will bring together an international consortium of physician and research scientists from South Afri
PEOPLE must boldly advocate for the use of condoms if the spread of HIV/AIDS is to be contained, the health state minister has said. Dr. Richard Nduhuura said people should not shy away from buying condoms in public. Let us not be shy about AIDS because the disease itself is not shy to get us when we fail to protect ou
MULAGO Hospital and Uganda Virus Institute have acquired new machines that will enable babies as young as one month to be tested for HIV. Previously, babies could only be tested at the age of 18 months. This was revealed by Mildmay Centre director Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, during a breakfast meeting at Sheraton Hotel, Kam
The number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda dropped from seven percent in 2004 to three percent today, new statistics have revealed. The Demographic and Health Survey shows that the HIV prevalence is higher among men than women at 3.6% versus 2.3% respectively. It also indicated that 7.3% of urban dwellers ar
Kampala - STANDING Alone features students of Mengo SSS. The film focuses on HIV/Aids and its impact on the community. Stephen (Joseph Mabirizi), the protagonist, heads Save a Life from Aids, a club that lobbies support for people living with HIV/Aids in the school. The club also sensitises students about the dangers o
SOME 50 years ago, the disease situation in the world was relatively stable. Concern focused on six main diseases: cholera, plague, fever, smallpox, typhus and yellow fever. Today, new diseases are emerging at the unprecedented rate of one per year, according to the just released World Health Report 2007. Population gr
UGANDA telecom (utl) recently embarked on a mission to help children in northern Uganda who are living with HIV/Aids. Over 150,000 children are living with HIV/Aids, about 20,000 of whom were infected through mother-to-child transmission. As part of its corporate social responsibility, utl s Annual Leadership Series to
Ugandan medical officials will this week participate in the International Aids Conference in Seattle, Washington, in the U.S. The conference, said Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, the principal investigator at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, started yesterday and runs to Wednesday. It will seek new measures in fighting HIV/A
RECENT research findings that circumcision significantly reduces the risk of HIV infections have rejuvenated hope for many poor people around the world particularly in Africa, where the fight against the scourge has been hampered by financial constraints. Dr. Stephen Watya, a urologist from Mulago Hospital, participate
THIS world is still breathing because of a few specific things. And I am not talking about Mabira demonstration or pastors. I mean condoms. Not only did they help bring down HIV infection rates from 15% in the 1990s to 5% in 2001, they have consistently returned hope into despair among discordant couples, people living
CONDOMS are widely recognised as a highly effective method of preventing HIV infection. The Uganda Aids Commission director general, Dr Kihumuro Apuuli, said massive condom distribution played a big part in reducing HIV rates from 15% in the early 1990s to 5% in 200. Knowledge of condoms is almost universal, with almos
THE Police in Jinja have arrested a man suspected to have conned people living with HIV/Aids of over sh12m. The crime chief, Willy Panuha, identified the suspect as Edward Kafuko, the director of Living with Aids in the Community Organisation. Panuha said the organisation was not registered. Kafuko is suspected to have
THE Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) involves more than 50 nations to be represented mostly by heads of state. It is the first time Uganda is hosting the meeting. It is an opportunity for all the visitors to see what they have been hearing about Uganda and its efforts to curb HIV/Aids. It is imperative
PEOPLE living with HIV/Aids under the umbrella of The National Forum of People Living With HIV/Aids Networks in Uganda (Nafophanu) and the Consortium of Advocates for Access to Treatment (CAAT) and their partners have noted with concern the response of the Ministry of Health over the treatment of Aids and provision of
STATISTICS project that in 2010, 100 million people will be HIV-positive globally. As usual, majority of these will be the poor from Africa and Asia. Uganda s success story of reducing HIV prevalence from 30% to 6% will soon be a gone case. We have forgotten where we came from yet uncertain of the future. Uganda s poin
THE U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated sh2.7b to the Inter-religious Council of Uganda for HIV/Aids prevention. The council will coordinate the prevention activities for about two million people. The money will be channelled through the Faith-Based Organisations, which will also train 1,270 r
On average, over 30 trucks park at Katuna on the Uganda- Rwanda border post overnight as they wait for clearance to enter either country THEY say life has no spare part, but it is amazing how reckless some people choose to live, especially in this era of HIV/Aids. At Katuna (Uganda/Rwanda) border post, there is a lot o
PEOPLE Living With HIV and Aids (PLWHA) have criticised the health ministry over the expiry of anti-retroviral (ARVs) drugs in the National Medical Stores (NMS) and the consequent shortage of ARVs in the country. Carrying placards which expressed their demand for drugs and a coffin, the members of PLWHA marched around
WOMEN who got infected while participating in the failed trials of a microbicide gel designed to prevent the transmission of HIV, will receive free treatment. Dr. Olive Sentumbwe, the national professional officer in charge of population and family planning at the World Health Organisation, announced this at the on-goi
Makerere University guild president Susan Abbo has said the use of condoms does not prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. She, therefore, emphasises abstinence and faithfulness as the most effective tools to curb the pandemic. Abbo was addressing students of Kimaanya Blessed Sacrament School in Masaka. She said the nation wa
STANBIC Bank staff attracted curious onlookers in various Kampala markets when they set up camp to talk about coping with HIV/AIDS. The staff had just completed a Bridges of Hope course in which they learnt about community sensitisation. Some of the markets they went to were Nakawa, Kisugu, Kabalagala and Ggaba landing
STANDARD Chartered Bank has donated sh500,000 to women living with HIV/AIDS to help them start income-generating activities. The corporate affairs manager, Herbert Zake, said helping the poor, sick, and the needy, was part of the bank s social responsibility. The bank s officials were visiting Kawempe Positive Women s
Condom use does not prevent the spread of HIV/Aids, the Makerere University Guild President, Susan Abbo, has said. Addressing students of Kimaanya Blessed Sacrament School in Masaka Municipality on Wednesday, Abbo noted that condoms are not 100% perfect. She emphasised that abstinence and faithfulness were the most eff
BASKETBALL coaches from the United States are in Uganda to impart coaching skills and promote the game as a means of positive living by the youth. The initiative - Success By Choice - is championed by Standard Chartered Bank in partnership with Land-O-Lakes and Miles and Associates. It started on Thursday last week
THE Population Service International yesterday launched a campaign against cross-generational sex, commonly known as the sugar daddy phenomenon. Cross-generational sex means a sexual relationship between a young girl and a much older man, with an age difference of 10 years or more. The campaign was launched in response
Sexual and reproductive health among young people is a major concern in Uganda where many of them fall victim of circumstances because some parents fear talking about sex and relationships. Even at universities the young people still have little knowledge about their sexuality, which has resulted into unwanted pregnanc
EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding - breastfeeding with no other food or drink, not even water - is the ideal mode of infant feeding for the first six months of life. For optimal growth, development and health, infants should be exclusively breastfed for their first six months, and should then receive nutritionally adequate and s
THE Energy Institute of Uganda in collaboration with the Family Health International has launched an HIV/Aids project. The project, worth $200,000 (about sh340m) targets communities in the northern transport corridor. The USAID funded Community Voices in Uganda Project , has been piloting in the two border areas of Bus
UGANDA S trials of a microbicide gel designed to prevent the transmission of HIV in women have hit a deadlock after research revealed that women who used it got infected with the virus at a higher rate than those who did not utilise it. Microbicides are substances that a woman can apply in her vagina before having sexu
HIGHLIGHTS on Day 2 at IAS 2007. Uganda s Apollo Basenero s research on when and how to switch patients from first line to second line Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART), won him the Recherches sur le SIDA (ANRS)/IAS Prize. The prize recognises young researchers, who demonstrate excellence in research related to the scale u
CROSS Generation Sex is a contributing factor to the high HIV prevalence rate among girls, a research has revealed. The research, conducted by the Straight Talk Foundation and PSI in Mukono, Luweero, Wakiso, Masaka and Mpigi district showed that the HIV prevalence among girls aged 15-24 in the country was four times hi
A forum has been introduced in several primary schools in Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso districts to sensitise pupils on HIV/Aids. The SAS Winner s Society empowers children with life skills on how to avoid getting HIV/Aids, helping the infected people and coping with the problem. The programme is the brainchild of SAS Fo
A TOTAL of 100 residents of Masaka district will participate in the global HIV vaccine trials. The community liaison officer of the Medical Research Centre, Vincent Basajja, said the trials, code-named Partnership for Aids Vaccine Evaluation, would start this year. He noted that they would be conducted by the U.S-based
THE education minster has announced that the ministry drafted 100 pages of guidelines to enforce alternative disciplinary measures in schools. Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire said most pupils and students drop out of school due to corporal punishments inflicted on them. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at Parliament
THE country director of Student Partnership Worldwide, Robyn Manford, has asked Red Cross members in Jinja to educate the youth about HIV/AIDS. Manford said the more the youth learnt about HIV/AIDS the more they would teach other youth on how to prevent infection, especially because they were vulnerable to it. Speaking
Samuel Kasinga, the Kyenjojo resident district commissioner , Kironde and Maduuli at the national education conference held at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala THE Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, has hailed the Uganda Program for Human and Holistic Development (UPHOLD) for implementing President Yoweri Museveni s d
FIVE months since she was started on the tuberculosis (TB) treatment, Regina Anyeko still cannot understand how she caught the pulmonary disease. We have never had any cases of TB in our family. And all along I was a very healthy person, wonders the 50-year-old housewife at Unyama camp for the internally displaced peop
AIDAH, 19, has a two-year-old son whose father she does not know. Many would refer to him as an accident, unwanted, a bustard - but Aidah calls him none of these. She just wishes she could forget the way he was conceived, but he is a constant reminder. Aidah s parents died of HIV/Aids when she was 15 years old, leaving
THOUSANDS of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps and in Gulu town turned up for an open-air voluntary counselling and testing as part of the activities to mark the World Population Day. Mothers, with their babies, attended antenatal services and reproductive health education offered by the Family Planni
THERE is more cause to be happy and worried all at the same time. Oil explorers have unexpectedly discovered natural gas reserves in western Uganda . Happy because there will be power generation as early as next year and hopefully a solution to the erratic loadshedding schedule. Worried, because a select few people mig
Drugs worth sh1.65b are about to expire at the National Medical Stores (NMS), while drugs worth sh1.2b have expired, the acting general manager, Apollo Mwesigye, has revealed. Among the drugs lost were laboratory supplies belonging to the Uganda AIDS Commission and items procured under the Global Fund programme, as wel
The HIV/AIDS infection rate, especially among married couples, in Arua district has increased. The district HIV/AIDS focal officer, Joyce Aciro, told a review meeting in Arua last Tuesday that whereas the youth were changing their sexual behaviour, adults, especially the married couples, were becoming more unfaithful t
A detailed analysis of the 2004/05 Uganda HIV/Aids Sero-Behaviourial Survey revealed the need to refocus HIV preventive measures to married people. The study - the first ever national survey to capture the actual extent of the HIV/Aids pandemic, was released during the fifth National HIV/Aids Partnership Forum at Speke
AMREF, a local NGO, has launched a sh20m sexual and reproductive health project to control the spread of HIV/Aids among the adolescents in Luweero District. Targeting the youth aged between 10 and 24, the project aims at keeping the youths occupied with youth friendly activities, free HIV/Aids testing, sensitisation an
AT least 70,000 people in Kasese district are infected with HIV/Aids accounting for 11.2% of the population. This was revealed in a report discussed by the District Aids Committee on Friday. John Thawite, the district information officer, called for immediate action by health officials. These estimates are taken from t
MANY internally displaced people with disabilities (PWDs) in the North have failed to return to their villages, a legislator has said. Their state cannot enable them return to the homesteads they left almost 20 years ago, the MP for PWDs in the North, William Nokrach, said during a workshop in Kampala. The Government s
THE use of child labour is greatly affecting the wage rates, a Workers MP has stated. Joram Pajobo said use of child workers increased the pool of manpower and lowered rates of payment. He explained that the situation could only improve with a well-enforced ban on child labour. If the ban is effected, the supply for ch
The number of people living below the poverty line has fallen to a record low of 31%, according to the State of Uganda Population Report 2007, released this week. Income-poverty headcount fell from 56% in 1992/1993 to 34% in 1999/2000, then rose to 38% in 2003/2004 but declined again to 31% in 2005/2006, the report sa
Nile Breweries is to provide free Anti-Retroviral drugs to more communities within which it operates, the managing director, Nick Jenkinson, has said. Jenkinson was addressing workers of bars, lodges and restaurants in Mbiko, Mukono, who had undergone training in HIV/Aids awareness. The company has been providing free
CHURCH leaders have been asked to appreciate the campaign to promote the use of condoms as a means of controlling the spread of HIV/Aids. The state minister for general duties, Dr. Richard Nduhura, asked the clergy to bear with the issue of condom use because the Government has to ensure that people are healthy. Nduhur
A TOTAL of 7,300 clients have been registered by the Aids Support Organisation (TASO) in Gulu district. At least 70% of them are female and 30% are male. According to the centre manager, Kimera Mutebi, the majority of their clients are from the most needy families in the camps. Briefing the American ambassador, Steven
CONCERN Worldwide is winding up its HIV/Aids capacity-building project in Mpigi district in August, leaving beneficiaries worried about the future. Joselyne Bigirwa, the policy and advocacy adviser said: As Concern, we have to change our target area and go to another district after key objectives have been achieved.
According to a report on Consistent Condom Use among Ugandan Couples in Primary Relationships released recently, some married couples are consistently using condoms as opposed to earlier reports that had showed that it was impossible for married people or those in stable relationships to use condoms. This is good news
Mityana district leaders have been asked to stop traditional healers from deceiving people living with HIV/AIDS that they are bewitched and can be healed. State minister for primary health care Emmanuel Otaala also warned religious leaders against deceiving the people that they can be healed through prayers. Otaala was
THE Christian Children s Fund has launched a sh1.5b three-year project for orphans in Kiboga, Wakiso and Masindi districts. Jane Nandawula, the charity s communications manager, said the Irish government is expected to contribute the biggest percentage of the money. The total project sum is 795,590 euros (about sh1.7b)
THE defence ministry has proposed testing all members of the Uganda People s Defence Forces for HIV annually. It is an interesting debate which is still ongoing but we hope it will be resolved soon. We want all soldiers to be counselled and tested for HIV. Every year will be good enough. We also want to add the issue o
PEOPLE should go for HIV testing as a means of fighting the pandemic, the minister of state for primary Healthcare, emmanuel Otaala has said. Otaala said HIV/AIDS was the greatest challenge of this generation, but having the right statistics about infection would play a big role in the fight against it. He was speaking
THE high prevalence of domestic violence in Uganda is preventing the success of the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms) strategy, which the country is using in HIV prevention. Women activists noted that: ABC is not working for women because of domestic violence. Domestic violence increases women s vulnerabili
Nebbi district authorities have teamed up with the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) to launch what they described as a protracted war against HIV/AIDS. The research centre, through funding from the President s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), recently opened a multi-million HIV/AIDS clinic at Nebbi Hospita
UGANDAN epidemiologists have noted that while the old HIV/AIDS messages had helped reduce infection rates, they are no longer sufficient. Most of the messages were developed in the 1990s. Speaking recently at the fifth National HIV/AIDS Partnership Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo, the experts concurred that a new genera
CONCERNED that 30 million children are not in primary school and that 60% of HIV/Aids cases globally are in the Commonwealth countries, ministers for women s affairs have asked the heads of government to provide sufficient funds for gender equality. We have requested the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to prov
ALLEGATIONS that the rich are buying off ARVs and other drugs meant for free distribution to patients will be investigated, reports Anne Mugisa. Relief and Disaster Preparedness Minister, Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere said: We have to investigate the matter. The local leaders should be warned about this. The drugs are suppos
THE Slovakia Christian Children s Charity, Erko-Dobra-Novina, has started a socio-economic development programme for Aids orphans and vulnerable children in Kyabakadde schools. Justin Mayanja, the coordinator of Kyampisi Rural Development Programme (KRUDEP), said they had received the first installment of sh70m. This w
THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has donated office equipment and a vehicle worth sh62m to the Uganda National Youth Network and the Family Planning Association of Uganda for use in HIV/AIDS prevention. Allan Kayanja, the youth network chairman, said the equipment would assist them in sensitising the youth on
MARKET vendors living with HIV/AIDS in Kampala will not have to walk long distances to get HIV/AIDS counselling and antiretroviral treatment. A clinic to cater for people living with HIV will soon be opened up at St. Balikuddembe Market (Owino market) to provide voluntary counselling and testing and medical services.
HIV/AIDS has forced children to grow up fast. As parents or guardians die of AIDS, the older orphaned children especially girls are forced to take up the responsibility of looking after their siblings, says the Secretary General of National Council for Children, Joyce Otim-Nape. Research shows that there are nearly 2.5
While HIV prevalence among young people in Uganda has gone down dramatically, married women remained at high risk of contracting the disease, Mrs. Janet Museveni said yesterday. Addressing hundreds of delegates at the 8th Commonwealth Women affairs Ministers Meeting, the first lady said advocacy efforts, including mult
UGACOF Limited, in partnership with USAID Business project has, opened up a free antiretroviral treatment clinic for HIV/Aids patients and voluntary counselling and testing for residents of Kira sub-county. At a function to open up the clinic, Richard Nduhura, the state minister for health, who was guest of honour, sai
WORLD Vision Uganda has built a maternity ward and a staff house at Karugutu Health Centre, Bundibugyo district. The Bundibugyo LC5 chairman, Jackson Bambalira, last week officially commissioned the 32-bed ward, worth sh139m. The ward also has 16 baby cots and an HIV/AIDS testing and immunisation facility. Bambalir
The Youth Health Organisation is organising an annual workshop on AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Their chairman, Felix Nsibirwa, said the four-day event will take place at Makerere University St Augustine Students Centre starting from June 27. Workshop co-ordinator, Samuel Kalanzi has called for sponsors.
Women are the strong race, so they say. Indeed, in most countries in the world women on average live longer than men. In Australia , women have a life expectancy of 83 years, as opposed to 78 for men. In the UK too, women can expect to live five years longer than men: 81 versus 76. However, a reverse trend is emerg
CRANES players Timothy Batabaire and Geoffrey Massa took time off training last week to tell young people about the dangers of HIV/Aids. The players attended the launch of the Sports, HIV prevention and future leaders grooming programme at The Aids Support Organisation (TASO) headquarters in Mulago hospital, Kampala.
THE Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, has called for strong communication links between the Commonwealth member-states and the civil society to fight poverty. The current challenges we are facing as the Commonwealth can only be addressed effectively through coordinated actions and commitment to work together, Nsib
THE Japanese government has constructed a health centre and renovated a library and information centre in Kyotera, Rakai district. Commissioning the $101,510 (about sh183m) project on Wednesday, the Japanese ambassador, Ryuzo Kikuchi, said Kyotera Medical Centre, which cost $90,000 (about sh153m) to build would benefit
A female professor has attacked the Government over expired female condoms. The condoms expired from the stores, while women were being infected (with HIV/AIDS) everyday. That is a criminal offence, Dr. Margaret Muganwa of the Global Campaign for Microbicides, said during a meeting for the Commonwealth experts at the S
PEOPLE with disabilities have complained about the way HIV/AIDS messages are imparted by health service providers. The training is so verbal. Imagine someone demonstrating to blind people how a man is supposed to put on a condom. How are they supposed to understand when they do not see? Alice Nabanja of Blind but Able
COMMONWEALTH medics have blamed traditional healers for frustrating the fight against AIDS, saying they convince people that they can cure AIDS and stop them from going for the right treatment. It is foolish to claim that they can cure HIV/AIDS. As medical workers, we have researched and found out that a virus is a par
Child-headed homes are on the increase in Uganda , the programme officer Women Alive, Hope Mukisa, has said. She said the districts with the biggest number of child-headed homes were Kampala, Masindi, Iganga, Busia and kabarole. A study conducted in the districts registered over 4,000 orphans and vulnerable children, M
A senior diplomat at the European Union office in Kampala has unveiled an ambitious plan to fly a light aircraft from Entebbe to Brussels. The cross-continent flight in a small plane, the first of its kind, is meant to raise funds for HIV/AIDS victims in Uganda . Remy Noe, the first counsellor at the European Commissio
THE rose to fame when she won the Miss Midcom Beauty Pageant last year. But Haawa Kagoya, 20, has more than the dazzling looks. Kagoya is now revealing her other side - singing. Last year, Kagoya announced her entry on the local music industry with a gospel song titled Life 4 JC (Life for Jesus Christ). Life 4 JC gets
OFFICIALS who misappropriate public funds should be prosecuted, the Danish Ambassador to Uganda said at a workshop yesterday. It is very important that action is taken whenever there is strong evidence of corruption, Stig Barlying stated. It hurts and irritates to see that huge funds were misused in this country. Effor
THE agriculture minister, Hillary Onek, has blamed the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among Uganda s fishing community on the excess daily disposable income. Over three million people are either directly or indirectly employed in the fishing sub-sector. Onek said while the prevalence rate ranged between 6-7% in agricult
PERSONS with disabilities have been advised to refrain from thinking that they cannot contract HIV/AIDS. The Kasese deputy speaker, Naome Mbambu, said most disabled people have ignored the preventive measures. Mbambu, who was addressing disabled women at Moonlight Hotel in Kasese town on Thursday, advised them not to c
NILE Breweries has completed training 200 sorghum farmers as HIV/Aids peer educators. The trainees were selected from 15 core epuripursorghum growing areas in the western, northern and eastern regions. Nile Breweries uses epuripur variety of sorghum to make Eagle Lager and Eagle Extra beer brands. The brands are popula
Kampala City Council (KCC) has received a $1.7m donation (sh2.8b) for the control of HIV/Aids, writes Grace Agaba. KCC health planner Dr. Timothy Musila said the donation was from the U.S. President s Emmergency Plan For Aids Relief through the Infectious Disease Institute of Makerere University. During a sensitisation
A TOTAL of 132,500 Ugandans get infected with HIV/AIDS every year, the state minister for health, Richard Nduhuura, has said. Forty-two percent of these are occurring within married couples and this is attributed to the increasing extra marital sex, he said. He said the Government had made significant progress in fight
THE Minister of state for Health Primary Care, Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, has called for distribution of more condoms in public places to curb the spread of HIV/Aids. As we renew our commitment to support HIV vaccine research, let s try to save people s lives who cannot abstain by making condoms available in all public place
CHILDREN infected with HIV are asking a critical, yet incriminating question. Who is to blame for our status? And the adults, though with the answer, cannot bring themselves to saying it. There is an air of apprehension with which they receive the query, ultimately staying gagged, yet traumatised from seeing the childr
LANDS and Housing minister has cautioned the internally displaced people returning home from the camps to guard against contracting HIV/AIDS. Omara Atubo, who was passing out peer educators last Saturday, lamented that the HIV prevalence rates in the north were very high. A lot of effort is being made by the Government
RUBAGA division is planning to set up a furniture project to economically empower residents. The project aims at equipping residents with carpentry skills, providing them with initial capital by pulling resources and looking for market. In an interview recently, the division Mayor, Winnie Makumbi, said the project will
AS we approach the World AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day set for Friday, May 18, two new vaccine candidates have been identified globally as the most likely and possible saviours after two decades of futile research. Dr Pontiano Kaleebu, the Principal Investigator at the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), says th
THE HIV rate is increasing dramatically in Karamoja and a group of women activists in Moroto district is trying to stop the upward spiral. The Karimojong managed to avoid the spread of HIV experienced by the rest of the country in the 1980s and 1990s, but that is no longer the case. According to Dr. Vincent Owiny, the
SCOUTS are the right carders to sensitise the youth on the HIV/AIDS scourge, the Rukungiri district secretary for social services, Emmy Ngabirano, has said. Speaking at the closure of a workshop for scouts leaders on Saturday, Ngabirano disagreed with their resolution that they should encourage circumcision as the way
Dr Bernard Okongo is the director of Uganda Cares and the managing director of the AIDS Health Care Foundation. He told Elizabeth Namazzi about his turning point and why he is unmarried at 37. Tell us about your childhood I was born in 1970 in a village called Mella in Tororo District. While in primary school, I didn t
A TOTAL of $16m (over sh26b) has been raised by Ireland , Britain, Denmark and the US to fund HIV/AIDS activities in Uganda . The money is part of a new arrangement under which the four countries plan to a
MULAGO Hospital on Friday launched a satellite Immune Suppressive Syndrome (ISS) clinic for the treatment and diagnosis of HIV/ AIDS. The clinic that cost over sh700m, will provide healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDS. It was constructed with a grant from the US President s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
RESIDENTS of Nebbi district are receiving free anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) donated by the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) and the American government. The energy state minister and Okoro Member of Parliament, Simon D Ujanga, who commissioned the 56th HIV/AIDS treatment centre on Saturday, told the residents to g
AT the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Pediatric Foundation, our primary concern is prevention of mother to child (PMTCT) transmission of HIV/AIDS. When I was last here in the 1980s and 1990s, 25% of the women who went to antenatal clinics were HIV positive. Recently we were in Mulago Hospital with the Foundation s President, Pa
MEMBERS of the Rotary clubs of Kololo and Mengo recently counselled students of Kidera Secondary School in Kamuli on how to avoid contracting HIV/Aids, smoking and taking alcohol while still in school. Rotarians visit Kidera sub-county to offer free treatment of opportunistic diseases every year. They conducted a couns
YOU are the only personwho can look after my daughter, a woman who was on her deathbed told Agnes Nambuya. Then she stared at Nambuya and took her last breath. When the woman was buried, Nambuya s relatives and friends discouraged her from adopting the child. They told me not to adopt the girl because she would infect
One woman dies every minute during pregnancy or childbirth, adding up to more than 500,000 dead women each year. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. For every woman who dies, there are 20 to 30 others who survive childbirth but suffer debilitating injuries. If we are serious about providing health security to wome
DISCRIMINATION against the poor in accessing free HIV/AIDS drugs will cease with the enactment of a law enabling all patients access the drugs, said the Bugabula North MP, Gerald Menhya. He warned that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was increasing in Uganda after stagnating at 6% for five years. Menhya added that only 2%
EASY access to condoms and a supportive environment might increase their use among married couples and those in stable relationships, a study done by Makerere University has shown. Done in collaboration with Nairobi University and Family Health International, the research among 39 couples in Kampala, showed that it is
CONDOMS will be placed in public toilets in Bugiri district to encourage them to have protected sex, health state minister Richard Nduhura has said. Someone would just sneak in a nearby latrine, get himself a pack, put it in his pocket and walk out quietly. Visiting Sigulu Health Centre last week, Nduhura regretted tha
EASY access to condoms and a supportive environment might increase condom use among married couples and those in stable relationships. A study among 39 couples by Makerere University, University of Nairobi and Family Health International using questionnaires and focus-group discussions showed that women initiated condo
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has hailed the late Dr. Richard Bulamu for his efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Bulamu, a former MP for Luuka county in Iganga district, died on Wednesday after a short illness. In a message read by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, during a funeral service in Kiyunga, th
MPs have amended the rape and defilement law making it mandatory for offenders suspected of being HIV positive to undergo medical tests. Suspects found guilty of infecting their victims with HIV/AIDS will be liable to a death sentence. The new laws differentiate between aggravated and mild rape, with victims under 14 y
YOUNG people living with HIV prefer to date partners of a negative sero status. This was revealed in a study among adolescents living with HIV at the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic (PIDC) in Mulago. Presenting the adolescent sexuality study, Dr Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka, the head of adolescent programmes at PIDC, s
Why does he dodge HIV sensitisation sessions? DEAR Doctor, I am a teacher in charge of HIV/AIDS affairs in my school. We hold HIV/AIDS sensitisation sessions fortnightly every Friday morning. I have noticed that there is one particular child who is always absent from these sessions. He either comes late when the sessio
AS a way of ensuring that people adopt good health practices to prevent and treat illness and save money, AFFORD, a USAID-funded health marketing initiative launched a good life game show on April 4 at Ndere Centre. The show, that started showing on UBC starting April 16, is aimed at educating Ugandans on health, but i
HIV rate worrying LUWEERO - The district director of health services, Dr. Joseph Okware, has said surveillance data from 19 sites of voluntary counselling and testing reveals that out of 100 people who are tested voluntarily, 18% are found to be HIV-positive. While launching the project, Expanding the Role of Networks
THE Kasana-Luweero Catholic Diocese has opened a sh228m centre for offering antiretroviral therapy and palliative care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Luweero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke districts. Namaliga Health Centre near Bombo town, provides HIV/AIDS sensitisation, testing, counselling, spiritual support, home ba
THE struggle against the spread of HIV/AIDS got a boost on Friday with a UK-based foundation launching condom and sanitary towel vending machines. Eleanor Mwanje of One World Foundation told journalists that the innovation would enable individuals access the condoms and towels in private and convenient places. Research
SAVE the Children Uganda will donate 3,640,958 Danish Kroner, (about sh1b) to combat HIV/AIDS among children in Kasese district over the next three years. The adviser, Edmond Kertho, on Wednesday said the money would cater for prevention, care, support and treatment of children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. He
THE fact that the prevalence of HIV has gone up five-fold in Karamoja from 0.4% to 2% is sad but not surprising. For a long time Karamoja has been closed to the rest of the country. Unfortunately Karamoja s borders can no longer remain impermeable to development and the subsequent evils, including disease. Karamoja may
MOROTO, Tuesday, The people of Karamoja managed to avoid the onslaught of HIV experienced by the rest of the country in the 1980s and 1990s. But just as the government is bringing the national epidemic under control, HIV rates in karamoja are spiralling upwards. Ten years ago, the prevalence was 0.4% and now it is 2% -
AN expert acupuncturist, Nick Phillips is expected in the country on April 20, to train local health-care workers basic acupuncture techniques. The sponsored training will last two weeks and be based at Ibanda Hospital in Ibanda district. Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating needles into acupuncture
I saw my sister Sarah Nantongo shrink from 80kg to a little sack of bones. But nine months after her burial I accepted when her husband dropped on his knees to ask for my love. At first he asked me to come and look after their children who were still very young. We lived together for nine months before he started whisp
THE anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in stock can last for a month, the state minister for primary healthcare has said. Dr. Emmanuel Otaala explained that whereas the Global Fund in Geneva had released $15m (about sh26b) for ARVs, the stock had not arrived due to new procurement guidelines. Unlike in the past where the Gov
MPs want defilement cases to be heard in camera and defilers be tested for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. While debating amendments to the Penal Code on Wednesday, they said the closed sessions would protect the children against further embarrassment and humiliation. The argument that defilers be tested arose f
THE health minister, Richard Nduhura, has urged health workers to carry out routine HIV/AIDS testing among themselves. He was addressing medical officers at the Jinja Referral Hospital on Wednesday. Banks giving loans to people on the Bonna Bagagawaale (Prosperity for All) programme should first encourage their clients
NOBODY can test HIV-negative after a positive credible test has been done, says Dr Francis Ssali, a physician at Joint Clinic Research Centre (JCRC). But 16-year-old, Ruth Nakalembe, seems to be exceptional. After testing positive five different times, Nakalembe recently tested negative after two confirmatory tests at
DO you realise that, one of the most important aspects of HIV/AIDS management is keeping your food and water safe from harmful germs that cause food poisoning? Germs such as bacteria, parasites and viruses cause stomach and intestinal infections. For most people, the effects of food poisoning pass within a few hours. B
GOVERNMENT is to embark on a vigorous training programme of medical personnel to implement countrywide male circumcision as an HIV/AIDS preventive method, said Dr. Sam Zaramba the Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health. UN health agencies last Wednesday endorsed male circumcision in the panoply of arms t
Dear Doctor, My son, who started on ARVs at about 11 years with a CD4 count of 30 cells only, is seemingly not growing. His age mates of 15 years are much bigger and I am worried that he may never grow into an adult of normal stature. Is there anything I can do to help him now? Maria Dear Maria, From what you describe,
East African health and science experts have recommended that male circumcision be encouraged because it is effective in preventing HIV infection. Male circumcision has been found to be protective against HIV and other genital urinary infections and should be encouraged, the first East African Health and Scientific Con
A high-pitched cry of an infant could be heard from somewhere in the home in Buwaiswa village, in Kamuli district. The home constitutes two huts and a makeshift reception hall. Skolastica Namuwaya, 75, emerges from one of the huts. Her face is contorted and the shadows around her eyes give her a lost look. The incessan
The Nile Breweries HIV/AIDS policy has impressed the American Ambassador. Steven Browning said it was commendable to have voluntary counselling and testing for the company s 325 workers. The ambassador was recently touring American-funded HIV/AIDS projects at Nile Breweries in Njeru, near Jinja town. Nile Breweries get
THE Rukungiri branch of The Aids Support Organisation has launched a house-to- house distribution of anti-retroviral drugs. The branch manager, Abel Asiimwe, said the campaign was the first of its kind in the country and would later be implemented in Soroti district. He said the initiative aims at reducing the transpor
Two journalists have scooped awards for covering the plight of children with HIV/AIDS. The Tunza Watoto wa Africa Journalism Award was given by the African Network for Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect. Each of the journalists got sh1m at a dinner held for the children rights conference particip
LADY Sylvia Nagginda, the queen of Buganda, has urged the Government and other stakeholders to utilise cultural institutions to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and child abuse. Nagginda said rejection of cultural values and virtues was one of the reasons that HIV/AIDS is spreading. She asserted that cultural values, like
While appraising Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) messages, condoms, confidence with abstinence and negotiating condom use were found to be the most significant lessons learnt from the African Youth Alliance (AYA) programme. It was also found that behaviour change was more significant with the girls than th
Dear Doctor, I recently got a housegirl, but when I took her for a medical check-up including HIV testing, she tested positive. I sent her away, but now I feel guilty because I did not tell her that I was testing her for HIV. Did I do wrong? She was a nice girl. Morine.K Dear Morine, First of all, it may be a good idea
My dad s eyes turned yellow Dear Doctor, My father started on ARVs called triomune two weeks ago and has developed yellow eyes, though he feels alright. His doctor advised him to go back for review and to collect a new supply of drugs after four weeks, but we are concerned about his yellow eyes. What could be the cause
CHILDREN orphaned by AIDS in Rakai district have received over sh644m to support them for three years. The offer was made by Co-operaid, a Swiss charity and will be implemented by Rakai AIDS Orphans Project and Reach the Child Uganda . Rao Satapati, the director of Co-operaid, said the project was the last his organisa
THE Kabale branch of the AIDS Information Centre and its partners have launched a new strategy to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission. The programme, moonlight voluntary counseling and testing services, is carried out at night and targets truck drivers and sex workers. It kicked off on Wednesday night at Katuna parking yard
WITH an estimated 80,000 new cases of tuberculosis occurring in Uganda annually, the World Health Organisation has asked the Ministry of Health to declare it a national emergency. The organisation s representative in Uganda, Dr. George Melville, expressed concern that Uganda continues to lag behind in meeting the globa
ONE person with active tuberculosis (TB) infects, on average, 10 to 15 people every year. According to the National TB and Leprosy Programme studies, 80,000 new infections are expected each year. If these people are not treated, they will have infected at least 800,000 others by the end of the year. Dr H. Joseph Kawuma
I need a partner Dear Doctor, I am HIV-positive but fairly stable on ARVs for three years now. However, my biggest challenge is loneliness. I lost my husband over five years ago and though I have got over the loss, I feel I need someone. I need a man who is HIV-positive, with whom I can relate and share my life with. A
AON Uganda has developed an insurance policy for wealthy and productive people living with HIV/AIDS. Recent research showed that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is highest among wealthy Ugandans and high-level employees. The policy is called Enhanced Medical Cover. AON is an insurance broker. These people are the pilla
A 12-YEAR-OLD American evangelist has constructed a sh23m four-classroom block at Nakoosi Primary School in Mukono district. David van der Meer said he solicited the funds by holding charity walks and asked for contributions from relatives and friends. I visited the school in 2006 and found there were only three grass-
THE national power distributor, Umeme, on Friday launched a policy on HIV/AIDS at the workplace. According to the company s manifesto, the policy will enable the firm to minimise, monitor and manage the effects of HIV/AIDS. Victimisation, discrimination or segregation of any person based on HIV/AIDS status will not be
MALE circumcision is still raising dust for HIV activists, researchers and policy makers. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS called a meeting last week in Montreux, Switzerland , to give guidance on the way forward, as far as mass male circumcision is concerned. This was in the wake of the 2006 groundbr
THE incidence of new HIV infections appears to have stabilised for the first time in more than two and a half decades, statistics from the Ministry of Health show. Uganda s highest recorded prevalence was 18.5% in 1992, and 30.5% among pregnant women, especially in urban areas. These have both fallen to 6.4%, though th
KINYARA Sugar Works has received accreditation to carry out anti- retroviral therapy. It also launched a community-based HIV/AIDS voluntary and counselling intitiative, the centre s medical officer, Dr Charles Mukisa, said. Speaking at the launch of the programme early this month at Kabango grounds in Masindi, Mukisa s
I m tired of pushing Dear Doctor, My 15-year-old son, who is HIV positive and has been on ARVS for three years, has never stabilised and got used to his drugs. Every effort has been made to explain to him but he tends to take them consistently one week, only to discover that the next week he is defaulting. I feel he ha
Was I wrong to tell her teacher? Dear Doctor, I have been having difficulty with my niece of 12 years. She is HIV positive and her adherence to ARVs continues to be quite poor. I thought I should let the class teacher (who likes her so much) know what the problem is with the child and the challenge I am facing. Wit
THE Government is to start a new fund, separate from the Global Fund, to finance activities related to HIV/AIDS. The Director of the Uganda Aids Commission, Kihumuro Apuuli, told MPs yesterday that the new fund, called HIV Basket Fund, starts in June. This is a relief now that the Global Fund money has been cut. Donors
IF it were not for The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Ary Auma would probably not have known her sero status. She was among the first patients of TASO, when the organisation extended its services to Katakwi district in 2003. The services included outreach programmes. Auma grieves how Constantine Ochaka, her husband
THE HIV epidemic is now concentrated among adults, the Ministry of Health has said, calling for a re-focus of the prevention message. The ministry s statistics show that the average age of a person with HIV is now 35 up from 22 years in 1988. The 2004/05 HIV/AIDS survey which tested 30,000 people aged between 15 and 59
TORORO - Drama is the best way to boost awareness about the HIV/AIDS scourge in rural areas, according to the Kwar Adhola paramount chief, Moses Owori. He explained: Drama conveys the message better than class education. People get to see and reflect on how the virus is spread. Owori made the remarks on Thursday after
A total of 40 million condoms of the Engabu brand at the National Medical Stores could go to waste as their demand is dwindling, the Ministry of Health, has said. The figure is a half of at least 80 million condoms required annually in the country. Vastha Kibirige, the national coordinator in charge of condoms at the h
What is happening in The Gambia deserves mentioning here because it can very much easily occur in any African country where the leader has absolute power and all other departments fear to cross his path. In January, President Yaya Jammeh, 41, announced that he had been sent by God - this God who loves African State Hou
THE Global Fund Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland , has accepted Uganda s proposal on how funds to fight HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis will be managed. The health state minister, Emmanuel Otaala, announced that under the new arrangement, the money would be included in the national budget. Otaala was speaking at the la
Ugandans risk losing the battle against HIV/AIDS unless deliberate and simultaneous efforts are renewed to promote abstinence, faithfulness and consistent condom use, the Ministry of Health has warned. The National Condom Coordinator at the ministry, Vastha Kibirige, said there is need for a balanced approach to reduce
My drug is out of stock Dear Doctor, I am HIV-positive and on free anti-retroviral therapy. I have been taking triomune 40 because I weigh 84kgs, which is above 60kgs recommended for this drug. However, recently I was put on triomune 30 for three months because they said triomune 40 was out of stock. My worry is, won t
A clinic to treat sexually transmitted infections has been built for Hukeseho Women s HIV/AIDS Project, in Bugiri district. The sh179m centre funded by an NGO, Goal Uganda , in Rwangosia village, Buyinja sub-county, has a solar power system, an incinerator and rain water harvesting equipment. Commissioning the heal
My legs pain at night. What is the cause? Dear Doctor, I am on anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and take one tablet of nifedipine in the morning because I have high blood pressure. At lunch hour, I take mineral supplements, but I have severe pain in my legs at night and find it difficult to sleep. During the day, it is not
CHILDREN living with HIV/AIDS have a chance to receive free comprehensive dental treatment, courtesy of a visiting 29-member paediatric dental team from the US. The team, which has just wound up an exercise in Tororo, where they treated over 200 children, is now being hosted by Mildmay Centre, Entebbe Road. They treat
CHILDREN whose parents died of HIV/AIDS have received scholastic materials. The over 400 pupils from different schools last week turned up at Orphans and Widows of AIDS Uganda (OWAU) offices to receive the donation. OWAU is a local NGO operating in Katwe, a city suburb. While handing over the materials, OWAU executive
President Yoweri Museveni wants a strong law to punish people who intentionally spread HIV, and another law to sanction perpetrators of child trafficking and prostitution. People who knowingly spread HIV are murderers, who need deterrent measures, the President said on Friday. Asked about the death penalty, Museveni sa
Ugandans now live longer than before. Life expectancy for women has risen to 50 years and for men to 48 years. That is up from 43 years in 1995, according to the latest government statistics. The improvement shows that government policies and programmes were making a difference in people s lives, said state minister fo
What is Partners in Population and Development? Partners in Population and Development (PPD) is an inter-governmental alliance of 21 developing countries with a mission to expand and improve South-South collaboration in the fields of reproductive health population and developments through Governmental, Non-Governmental
A successful HIV vaccine is at least a decade away, the International Aids Vaccine Initiative for Southern Africa (IAVI) said recently. A vaccine is at least a decade away. In the event of the Merck vaccine hitting the bar, it will happen earlier, said Dr Wayne Koff, senior vice-president of the IAVI, in Johannesburg,
THE Ministry of Health has started talking to stakeholders as one of the procedures for drafting a policy on circumcision. This followed a survey on circumcision in Rakai district recently which recommended that developing countries should widely adopt male circumcision as an HIV prevention method. The studies, under t
I am allergic to septrin Dear Doctor, I am HIV-positive with a CD4 above 200. I am supposed to take septrin daily, but because I am allergic to it, I was advised to take dapsone tablets. I have reacted to them as well. I have stopped taking them and I am much better. I am worried even though I am in a good condition at
SARA is a tall, slender woman with striking features and a warm smile. But you will not believe her story when she sits down to narrate it to you. Sara is HIV positive - infected because of her own complacency. When I started taking pills two years ago, I was only worried about getting pregnant. I started going in for
FOR a novel serialised in four parts, Shared Lives is fast reading. And this is not because it is a particularly gripping read. It is more because this novel is about us. Fiction as it might be, the novel tackles a real and important subject of our times- HIV/AIDS. ‘Shared lives’ is the latest work by Dr. Laban Erapu,
THE Uganda Blood Donor Transfusion Services destroys 900 units of blood infected with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis each month. This is 9% of the over 10,000 units collected monthly from the donation centres countrywide, the spokesperson, Paul Lorenzo Kaggwa, revealed. He disclosed that about 5,400 units of infected
FACE HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I have just returned home from the UK, where I have been living for the last five years. While there, I was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and started on ART. I am now on combivir and kaletra and doing well. I have tried to access care here, but everywhere I go, they want ART naïve patien
FACE HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I am HIV positive and I would like to join the fight against stigma because I know it is the one behind denial, which has complicated the fight against HIV/AIDS. My problem, however, is that there is nothing positive one can say about this disease and that is what fuels stigma. Eve
PALLIATIVE care (from Latin palliare, to cloak) is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease, or slow the disease s progress, rather than provide a cure. The World Health Organisation defines palliative care as: The active total care of patients whose
Why the long lines? Dear Doctor, I am HIV positive and in need of anti-retroviral treatment. However, the lines at one AIDS service organisation are very long and the caregivers insist on me having several sessions of counselling and education before starting treatment, which to me is a long process. Can t I be started
IN 1965, it was clear that Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, was gifted in more ways than one. While at Kings College Budo, he was chosen to be one of the Pioneer students of The Express system. Under this system, he sat his exams in a three-year O level course instead of the usual four years. Always at the top of his class, he was
UGANDA S first HIV tests in amateur boxing will be conducted at next week s National Open boxing championship. Uganda Amateur Boxing Federation vice president Dr. Ntege Ssengendo revealed the mandatory HIV and doping tests for boxers on Saturday. Ntege announced the requirement at a pre-tournament briefing at Lugogo.
A TOTAL of 234 Ugandan women have been enrolled for trials of a new product designed to help women protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. The trial of another gel, different from the one that has been halted, is being conducted by the Medical Research Council and Uganda Virus Research Institute. Dr Anatoli Kamali, the princ
THE US-founded Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation has boosted the fight against the scourge in the country. The donation, funded by the President Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, included 33 motorcycles, five vehicles, seven generators and 25 computers with printers. The foundation believes that the comp
PARTICIPANTS at a workshop on HIV/AIDS were left in tears on Monday after watching a play on the violation of women s rights on Monday. Eddie Ssejjoba reports that the play depicted the abuse of women s rights and how it made them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The workshop at Maria Flo Hotel in Masaka district was organised
PEOPLE living with HIV, risk running out of treatment options as the virus becomes resistant to the drug combinations, medical experts have warned. This follows some countries reporting that emergence of HIV drug resistance strains has forced more patients to switch drug cocktails several times, depending on the develo
A total of 110 families with people living with HIV/AIDS received humanitarian aid from the Uganda Community-Based Association for Child Welfare. The families from Busia, Bugiri and Tororo districts received mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, jerricans and basins to help them in the care of those with HIV. Twenty
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS should be identified and provided for, to enable them live longer, the Nebbi resident district commissioner has advised. Betty Adima, who was speaking at the NRM liberation day ceremony in Okoro county on Friday, challenged local leaders to preach the ABC message of Abstinence, Be faithful o
UGANDA can now detect the sero status of babies born to HIV positive mothers at three months and not one and a half years, like the case has been. Dr. Elizabeth Madraa, the AIDS Control Programme manager, said this will spare mothers the agony of waiting for 18 months before knowing whether their babies are HIV-positiv
- Population of over 28 million with 1.5 million infected - Adult prevalence rate is 6.4%; 0.7% among children - 200,000 people are eligible for ART with 90,000 on treatment. 127,000 to get ART by the end of this year - 250 treatment sites countrywide - Monthly cost of ARVs is $15 generics and $77 branded When can
Dear Doctor, I am seven months pregnant. When I went for a blood test, I discovered I was HIV-positive. This has shattered my life. I do not know what I am supposed to do to save the baby and how I will breast-feed. I do not know whether I should start taking ARVs immediately because I have not shown any signs of AIDS
CANADA has donated $100,000 (sh178m) for an HIV/AIDS programme for adolescent girls, writes Sandra Lucky. The money has been channelled through Daughters of Africa, a Canadian non-governmental organisation. Jordanos Tesfamariam, the youth coordinator of Daughters of Africa, said the money would be used to sensitise gir
The AIDS International Training and Research Program at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) has as its main goal to train foreign scientists in disciplines that could be used to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic in developing countries. The Uganda HIV/TB Clinical Operational and Health Services (COHRE) Research Training
DOCTORS with Africa, an organisation which offers health services in Moroto district, has extended its programme to all parts of Karamoja and parts of Teso region. During a meeting recently, the country director, Dr. Peter Lochoro, said the $1.08m Italian project is expected to address key constraints in the delivery o
At 15 years, HIV-positive Faith fervently prays to God for a cure against the virus afflicting the world. Born with HIV, Faith says a cure would make her life of taking 16 tablets of Antiretrovirals (ARVs) every day easier. Sometimes I do not feel like taking them (the tablets), but I have nothing to do. I know I need
AIDS Information Center is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) established in 1990 to provide the public with voluntary counseling and testing for Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). AIC therefore invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the supply of the following categories of goods. Category 1 Assorted Lab s
LACK of self-control is responsible for the increase in HIV/AIDS in the country, First Lady Janet Museveni has said. Janet said although the cause of HIV/AIDS was not known at the beginning of the pandemic in the 1980s, HIV prevalence rates had gone up because people were ignoring facts about the disease due to immoral
A COALITION of civil society organisations want defilement suspects to undergo mandatory testing for HIV/AIDS. Chaired by Action for Development (ACFODE), the coalition of five NGOs submitted the proposal to the parliamentary committee on legal and parliamentary affairs yesterday. The ACFODE education and capacity buil
AS the AIDS pandemic spreads untold misery across the country, the Uganda AIDS Commission has unveiled new strategies to combat the monster. The strategies include scaling up routine HIV testing and counselling at all hospitals and grade four health centres. It is targeting 500,000 people annually by 2012 and will be d
Dear Doctor, While attending a treatment literacy workshop recently, the trainer likened CD4 cells in our bodies to soldiers that protect the body from attack by germs. I am a soldier and would like to know how CD4 cells do this. Captain William Dear Captain William, The immune system protects the body against diseases
PRESIDENT Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will expire when American president George Bush leaves office in 2008. What will happen after that? What will the thousands of beneficiaries do and what will happen to the programmes under the relief fund? Can government take it over and sustain it? The PEPFAR pl
I make a lot of money, Grace Laker who is HIV positive laughs when asked about how much her small business makes. Laker runs a shop in Giza Giza in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb, from which she makes a monthly income of over sh300,000; this is infinitely more than the few shillings she lived on a few years ago. Laker set up
MAKERERE University Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) have honoured 11 AIDS experts for their exemplary roles in implementing the HIV/AIDS Fellowship Programme. The experts, together with their mentors, were given cash prizes, trophies and certificates. State minister for primary
THE Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) will start providing free antiretroviral drugs to all children infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) in the country, courtesy of the Bill Clinton Foundation. The centre s director, Prof. Peter Mugyenyi, made the revelations while addressing guests during their new year
Dear Doctor, I have HIV and my doctor tells me I am due for ARVs because my CD4 count has fallen below 200. I have now come to accept the situation and I am ready to go on the life-long journey with ARVs. However, my question is: which is the best combination of the ARVs? Namutosi Dear Namutosi, There is actually no co
AN American, Phil Greger, has donated $500,000 (about sh900m) to the Lira North West Medical Team. James Oloch reports that the NGO will use the money to build an HIV/AIDS testing centre in Ogur sub-county in Lira district. The centre will benefit residents of Ogur, Aromo and Apala. Greger on Thursday visited the inter
THE British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has shot a documentary of a 12-year-old Ugandan girl living with HIV/AIDS. Titled A Survivors Guide , the 30-minute documentary is about the life of Annabella Asasira from Kabale district and how she is coping with HIV in a rural setting. Commissioned by the elizabeth Glaser P
The joy from their young faces tells it all. The light that was burning out, but was rekindled by Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga of Christian Life Church Ministries, Bwaise when he built an orphanage. The young ones are all orphans, between two and 16 years, whose parents died in the war in the north and HIV/AIDS. The orphan
THE Joint Clinical Research Center director, Prof. Peter Ndimbirwe Mugyenyi, has been honoured by the University of Dublin in Ireland for his efforts in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. According to a press release from the college, Mugyenyi emerged as a leading figure in African medical studies over the last two decades
Play: Kabiite | Playwright: Mariam Ndagire | Group: Afri-talent | Showing at: Bat Valley, every weekend of January | Reviewed by: Emmanuel Ssejjengo Then the Afri-talent put on a show exclusive to bankers early last year, it proved to be a test to their creativity. They passed the test and this time, they have added mo
Dear Doctor, My mother who has been on ARVs for over four years has failed to respond to the treatment - even second-line drugs. She is now in much pain and we feel helpless watching her dying! What can we do now? Please help. Jonathan Dear Jonathan, It is a pity your mother s health did not improve on antiretroviral d
Dear Doctor, I have a sister with HIV and I am the one caring for her. There are times she has cried and without thinking much about it, I have wiped away her tears with my hands. Recently she became confused and even bit my hand. I am now worried I may have been infected from her tears and saliva. What do I do? Don t
Kampala - SCIENTISTS say there are several biological reasons why circumcision may decrease the transmission of HIV/AIDS. A new study carried out in Uganda and Kenya has re-confirmed this. The findings have generated mixed reactions from the public and medical experts. The argument is that the discovery should not
THE testing of the viral load in people living with HIV/AIDS could soon be cheaper in Uganda , preliminary studies by Centres for Disease Control in Tororo district have shown. This follows the trial of the alternative use of Total Lymphocyte Count instead of the CD4 count to establish the viral load. The medical o
We cannot ignore the HIV problem as we embrace the new year. In spite of intensive research, scientists still have a very long way to go to find the cure for HIV/AIDS, but at least there is hope for a vaccine. Dr Andrew Kambugu, the head of Clinical Services, Infectious Diseases Institute Makerere University, put hope
Dear Doctor, I am an HIV-positive midwife, but because I am on ARVs, my health is good and no one would know I have HIV. Sometimes I get patients who have HIV and would like to encourage them by sharing my experience, but I fear that if people know my status, they may shun my clinic fearing I might infect them or their
Dear Doctor, I am a clinical officer working in one of the upcountry clinics. We have been encouraging people to come for voluntary counselling and testing at our centre and the response has been good. However, we are faced with a problem: We do not have access to a CD4 count machine and therefore, cannot advise our pa
ST. Anthony’s Hospital in Tororo town is to open a special out-patients’ clinic to assist people who have suffered trauma. The clinic will be funded by an American family whose son died in the september 2001 terrorist attack in New York. James Odongo, the Archbishop of Tororo Catholic Archdiocese, revealed this in his
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.