Dear Doctor, I am six months pregnant and on ARVs (Nevirapine, Truvada and Septrin). I have been advised by my doctor to breastfeed exclusively for six months after giving birth as per the new health ministry recommendations. However, I might be able to breastfeed for only three months because that is the duration of m
THIS year has had its highs and lows with several adjustments in the health sector. A lot of emphasis has been placed on maternal health, jiggers and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, among others. Vique-Ocean Kahinju and Joyce Nyakato bring you the highlights. Maternal health IT has had a fair share of attention, owing to the fa
FIFTY-five girls below 12 years have contracted HIV/AIDS after being defiled between January and September in Tororo district. The district officer in charge of criminal investigations, Isabella Amejja, on Wednesday said about 276 girls were defiled in the district, adding that 65% of them were below 12 years. She expl
HE sits helpless in a locally fabricated wooden chair as saliva flows uncontrollably from his mouth. Evidently, flies take advantage of his condition to feast on his saliva and excreta. Davis Munguchi, a six-year-old boy, is disabled and unable to walk. Confined in a wooden chair, he sits motionlessly. He seems unaware
THE Government will pay an additional allowance to health workers in hard-to-reach areas, President Yoweri Museveni has said. Museveni yesterday began his presidential re-election campaign in western Uganda by addressing three public rallies in Kisoro district. The allowances will be like a sweetener to entice them (he
OVER 30,000 primary school pupils and 2,600 teachers are infected with HIV, an official from the education ministry has said. Emmanuel Kusemererwa, a commissioner in the ministry, said over 320 support staff also had the virus. Available data in the ministry shows that 30,000 pupils, 2,600 primary teachers and 320 educ
An HIV positive man has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for defiling his 12-year-old daughter. Asuman Mbabazi, 29 defiled his step-daughter on May 14, 2009, at Nangwe in Busia district, while her mother, was away. The High Court sitting in Tororo convicted Mbabazi after prosecution evidence proved his guilt. Tor
PHILLIP Olarker Rauni III, the Alur king, has warned men against violating women s rights. Promoting violence against women is wrong and should not be tolerated in our society. Women and children are the holders of power, Olarker said. The king was reacting to a report by a women s group in Nebbi, which said widow inhe
IT is Alive Medical Centre, in Namuwongo. The centre gives free treatment and food to deprived persons living with HIV/AIDS. About 400 people are in the yard waiting for medication and food. The majority are women, especially mothers with children clutched to their bossoms. Harriet Nakawesi is among those waiting. The
SEX workers yesterday petitioned Parliament over the HIV Prevention and Control Bill, which they said promotes discrimination and violates human rights. Through their body, the Women s Organisation Network for Human Rights Advocacy (WONETHA), the workers demanded that some clauses of the Bill, which seeks to contain th
THE Government has asked neighbouring countries to establish stringent laws to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the region. This follows reports that several girls cross to Kenya to be cut, following a ban on the practice in Uganda . State minister for gender, Rukia Nakadama, on M
SEVERAL Government departments have slowed down development programmes by failing to use available data generated by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the statistics body has said. The deputy executive director of UBOS, Ben Paul Mungyereza, said some government institutions, especially ministries, have insisted o
THE Uganda Muslim Supreme Council has launched a sh99m HIV/AIDS prevention project in Kasese district. The four-year project funded by the United States Agency on International Development (USAID) through the inter-religious council of Uganda is targeting HIV/AIDS prevention among the Muslim community.
SEX workers have petitioned Parliament over the HIV prevention and control bill which they say promotes discrimination among some people and that it violates human rights. Through their umbrella organization:Women s Organization Network for Human Rights Advocacy (WONETHA), the sexual workers petitioned the Speaker of P
WOMEN living with HIV/AIDS in Lira district have asked the Government to help them access justice. We cannot access legal services because they are costly. The Government should come to our rescue, Rose Atim, a resident of Ogur, said. Another resident, Evelyn Ayo, said cultural beliefs also hindered them from accessing
THE Ministry of Health has given a CD4 count machine worth sh200m to Kamwenge district. The director of AIDS research, Prof. John Rwomushana, said the machine, which will be installed at Ntara Health Centre IV in Kitagwenda county, will reduce the transport and testing costs. People had to travel to Fort Portal to have
KANUNGU District Resident Commissioner (RDC), Can. Ben Rullonga, has urged the Government to enforce a policy that makes HIV testing compulsory, to curb the scourge. He was speaking during the World AIDS Day celebrations held on Tuesday at Ntungamo Primary School. The district health officer Sr. Florence Rwabahima, had
THE Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) has given five vehicles to the districts of Kween, Bukwo and Kapchorwa to fight female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sebei region. Musa Bungudu, the UNAIDS Uganda Country Coordinator, said the donation was in response to the Saturday Vision story of Saturday 4, ab
ABOUT 75% of Ugandans have access to safe water, compared to only 53% 10 years ago, according to a report released by the Ministry of Finance yesterday. The report showed that Uganda had made significant progress towards many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The September 2010 report noted that progress had
WEDNESDAY December 1 was World AIDS Day. The World AIDS Day is both a day of remembrance and a day of celebration. We must all remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS. It is in their honour that we work to provide HIV prevention, treatment and care to millions of people and to make progress against this epidem
HOUSEWIVES should ensure that they check their HIV/AIDS status along with their husbands to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Namutumba resident district Commissioner Grace Kasendabuguzi said on Wednesday. As wives be tough. We are still failing to contain HIV/AIDS because men don t want to go for HIV checks with the
SOME cried. Some were confused. Others still traumatised, while many were left speechless.They looked on in disbelief as a local female surgeon tried in vain thrice, probably using a very blunt knife, to cut off a girl s clitoris. She then asked for another, similarly blunt knife and to make it work, applied extra forc
TWO anti-HIV drugs, which have been on trial across 11 sites in six countries, have reduced the risk of HIV infection by almost 44%. The big international trial showed that taking two proven ARVs, Tenofovir and Emtricitabine ( Truvada ) before sex reduced the risk of contracting HIV in
DESPITE an increase in the number of people getting infected with HIV, the Government can only cater for a third of those who need ARVs. The donors are funding all the treatment needs of the people. We bring you a special report. Ninety percent of the funds Uganda uses to treat the 237,800 people who are living with HI
COMPARED to the general population, persons with HIV infection have a higher risk of premature death even before their immune system deteriorates to the point at which doctors have traditionally begun anti-retroviral treatment (ART), a new study shows. The analysis is based on data for 40,830 patients, ages 20-59 in 23
ABOUT 110,000 children under 15 years are living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda , statistics from Ministry of Health have shown. About 68% of these are in dire need of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), while only 32% are able to access treatment. While access to ART remains a challenge for children and adolescents in Uganda, adh
MOTHER-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS contributes to over 90% of paediatric HIV infections in Uganda . The high rate could be because comprehensive prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services reach just a few of the people who need it. Uganda has a national PMTCT programme goal of having an HIV-free
IT is more than 20 years since HIV/AIDS was discovered in Uganda . The efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS have enabled Uganda to realise a drop in prevalence from 18% in 1992 to 6.4% in 2010. Because of this, Uganda is internationally known for its success in the fight against the disease. Although Uganda has
THE HIV/AIDS pandemic disproportionately affects African women. Women s peak infection rates occur at earlier ages than men. In sub-Saharan Africa close to 60% of adults living with HIV are women. UNAIDS estimates that in countries with generalised epidemics, approximately 80% of women between the ages of 15 and 24 lac
THE vice-chairman of Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) has urged teachers to test for HIV. Teachers have a big voice to spread the HIV-testing campaign. If all can go for HIV testing, then the children they teach can also follow and eventually convince their parents to do the same, James Tweheyo said. He note
THE HIV Prevention and Control Bill is a threat to the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, especially women and children, activists have said. Dorah Musinguzi, the executive director of the Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS, said: Analysing the plight of children, the Bill doesn t achieve a good standard of
OVER 350 people in Kabale district voluntarily tested for HIV/AIDS during a function that was organised by the district to mark the International AIDS Day recently. Three married couples were given gas cookers for turning up together for the testing. The counselling and testing exercise was conducted by the district di
EDITOR: On November 22 it was reported that Pope Benedict XVI had changed the Catholic stand on condoms. I am disappointed with the consistent reliance by your reputable paper on Western media whose persistent misrepresentations of the Pope are well known. The anti-Catholic agenda of the Western secular press is legend
THE Government should crack down fake reflexologists who claim to cure all ailments with the therapy, health experts have advised. The president of the Uganda Medical Association, Dr. Margaret Mungerera, said many unscrupulous people were taking advantage of the weakness in the health system to extort money from the pu
DELIVERY of reproductive health services in Uganda and many other African countries continues to be a challenge. Almost all discussions and presentations on the issue highlight low male involvement as a major constraint to reproductive health service delivery. Reproductive health services, including antenatal and deliv
TEN percent of new HIV infections in Uganda have been linked to sex workers, according to the newly released 2010 UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic. The report says paid sex remains an important factor in the HIV epidemic trend in Uganda, with infections occurring among sex workers, their clients, or their othe
TWO German pilots have launched an initiative to fly around the world to raise funds for Ugandan vulnerable children and orphans. The pilots, Uwe Thomas Carstensen ad Martin Grohganz who arrived in Entebbe on Monday tend to raise over $100,000 (sh200m) from their venture to support education projects in Uganda. It is
THE First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, has advised married couples to remain faithful to each other in order to fight against the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS among the married. Launching The Love Wheel campaign on Friday at Gold Course Hotel, Mrs. Museveni said it was sad that HIV prevalence was higher among the married
A special investigation unit set up by President Yoweri Museveni has unearthed over 200 ghost health workers on the payroll. The unit has also established that several other health workers are always absent, while others are on study leave but are still getting their full monthly salaries. This is in addition to centre
ALCOHOL and drug abuse have been blamed for the increasing number of mental illness cases in Kabale district. Apollo Twine, a senior psychiatric at Kabale Hospital, said a third of those admitted at the hospital are found to be drug abusers and alcoholics. Twine, however, names other causes of mental illnesses as stres
ABOUT 360 Ugandans contract HIV daily, Dr. Godfrey Esiru of the health ministry has said. Speaking at the launch of the Be A Real Man campaign by the Mama s Club at Malukhu grounds in Mbale district, Esiru said the HIV/AIDS prevalence was steadily rising, despite concerted efforts by the international community, civil
THE deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday launched a week-long HIV awareness campaign for MPs and Parliament staff, with a call on MPs to go for voluntary testing. The campaign kicked off with a march from Parliament through Kampala Road. I urge all of you to utilise this opportunity to benefit from t
Lecturers are running away from medical schools across Africa for better salaries in non-governmental and international organisations, a study has revealed. The researchers have asked African governments to urgently institute measures to attract large numbers of students to medical schools and retain them after graduat
CHILDREN are the pride of every parent and every generation. They assure us of continuity as individuals and as a society. Children constitute more than half of the Ugandan population. There are many children under 15 infected with HIV/AIDS. Those already battling childhood challenges in poor tropical countries suffer
A total of $3m has been set aside to strengthen the fight against HIV/AIDS in 19 districts of West Nile and eastern Uganda . The money, according to Dr. Fredrick Twebaze, the area program manager of Baylor Uganda, will come from the Center for Disease Control under the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. T
Dear Doctor, They say that a woman can pass on HIV to her child through breastfeeding. How is this possible? What can a poor mother living in a village feed her baby on, other than breast milk? Samalie Dear Samalie, EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding is defined as a baby s consumption of breast milk with no supplementation of wat
Dear Doctor, I am a 22-year-old student living with HIV. I learnt about my status four years ago from my aunt who told me that I was born with the virus. I have a boyfriend who loves me so much, but I have not told him about my HIV status. However, he told me he is HIV-negative. We always use condoms when we have sex a
ELDERS in Bukwo and Kapchorwa districts are preparing to circumcise over 200 girls next month despite a new law banning the practice. They swear that the whole tribe would rather go to prison than abolish a custom they inherited from their ancestors. The practice, commonly referred to as female circumcision, is mostly
THE US has allocated $500m (about sh1.2 trillion) to fight infectious diseases in selected countries, including Uganda . The money is to strengthen the capacity of laboratories that research and diagnose animal and human pandemics. The funds will be channeled trough UN agencies in collaboration with the Uganda Virus Re
IT was interactive and fun-packed. Dubbed the Dare to Make a Statement exhibition at the Watoto Church parking lot last Saturday, the art exhibition was Power FM s tool of using art to create social change in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigma that comes with it. Though about a depressing disease, the mood was a
Face HIV Dear Doctor, I tested HIV-positive and my husband tested negative. I was shocked at how I contracted the disease because I had never cheated on my husband but he blames me for cheating. We do not have sex because we fear he may get infected. How can I convince him that it was not out of promiscuity that I cont
UGANDA has only one specialist for rheumatic arthritis infections, Dr. Mark Kaddumukasa, 35. He also teaches and trains at Makerere University Faculty of Medicine. We have only one clinic at Mulago. Due to the limited space that is also shared by the other departments, the clinic opens only on Fridays, he says. Kadd
You may find that your feelings about sex change after you find out you have HIV. It could be that your interest in sex dips or goes away altogether for some or all of the time, or the opposite might happen. This could be due to natural fluctuations in your desire for sex and is something that you are prepared to put u
Compulsive masturbator I am 30. I have been masturbating regularly for four years. However, since the year began, I have not masturbated. But I am worried about my fertility. I used to ejaculate up to four times in a day. Do I still have fertile sperms? John During our teens, we learnt that rubbing our private parts (m
VOICES of women who have undergone female genital mutilation documented by FEMRITE in a book entitled Beyond the dance, call for support to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). Amina who was once a surgeon in Kapchorwa has now turned against the practice and appeals to the Government to assist her to st
THE Government has asked court to convict the director of a local NGO accused of misappropriating sh38m from the Global Fund, saying he is guilty of mismanaging funds. Principal State Attorney Jane Okuo Kajuga Stephen Wakhweya turned money he received for carrying out Global Fund activities into personal wealth. Wakh
A team of 30 Christians from Kampala has completed a medical camp in Moroto town where they treated several people as part of their contribution towards the transformation of Karamoja district. The group was from the Deliverance and Full Gospel Pentecostal Churches. The team, led by Pastor Fred Wantate and Pastor Charl
THE Namibian government has asked Uganda to help it improve its health sector. The Namibian permanent secretary in the health ministry, Kahijoro Kahuure, said his country wanted Uganda to recruit experts for the health department. He said Ugandan health professionals were better than those in Namibia, adding that recru
ABOUT 500 people were screened for cancer in Mityana district last week as part of the activities to mark the Safe Motherhood Day. A total of 240 people were found to have signs of cancer, 41 of them were referred to Mulago Hospital. Speaking at the national celebrations at Busujju, youth state minister Jessica Arupo c
THE US Government has donated $25m (sh566b) for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention under the Presidential Emergency Programme for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The five-year funding is coordinated through the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The money was handed over on Thursday by the US Embassy Charge
ELEVEN organisations have received over sh500b from the US, to be disbursed over five years. The grant awarded through the United States Centre for Disease Control (US CDC), are part of the US President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The US Mission looks forward to renewed and strengthened collaboration wit
THE health ministry yesterday released a new list of individuals and institutions that have refunded the Global Fund money. According to the list of recoveries submitted to the public accounts committee yesterday by the ministry s accounting officer, Kyambadde Ssenyongo, sh1b has been recovered of the sh3b misappropria
Yumbe district health workers have been trained to handle tuberculosis and HIV. Nursing aids and clinical officers attended the five-day workshop at Yumbe Resource Centre on Monday. The strategy, under the Global Fund for TB, HIV and malaria, enables health workers to understand the association between the two epidemic
SOME 4% of upper primary school pupils in Uganda have been defiled by their teachers in the last one year, according to a 2008 study funded by the World Bank. That means that 43,000 girls in P5 to P7, roughly between 10 and 14 years old, have been sexually abused by the very people supposed to protect them. To defi
TEDDY Sezi Cheeye yesterday started serving his 10-year jail term for stealing Global Fund money meant for HIV/AIDS after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. The court said the sentence was too small because his offence was very serious. The conviction and sentences of the lower court are upheld. He should procee
All couples intending to get married must test for HIV, the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has proposed to Parliament. It is important for people to enter into the marriage institution with informed consent and knowledge of all relevant or material facts, said the executive secretary, the Rev. Fr. Dr. Silvester
ACCORDING to Baylor College of Medicine Children s Foundation, teenagers who are HIV-positive are abandoning HIV treatment after turning to religion. This is a very worrying trend because it has dire implications on our public health management. Uganda has made commendable progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS and thi
UGANDAN health workers have expressed concern over the growing number of HIV-positive teens who are abandoning their HIV treatment after turning to religion. Over the years, a growing trend of adolescents and caregivers have withdrawn from treatment with a belief of having been cured of HIV/AIDS in church, said Cissy S
SHE lifted her head up from the plate of cassava bread and fish she had been eating in the grass-thatched structure supported by poles. I could see she was scared as our eyes met. I first saw Biira Ronnet on September 21, 2007, just two hours after she was born at Karugutu Health Centre Grade IV, 350km west of Kampala.
Cancer is not a new disease in Uganda ; it existed right at the start of western medicine in the country. The documentation by missionary doctor Sir Albert Cook, the father of modern medicine in Uganda, described cases between 1897-1904 as cancers. This is contrary to the view that cancer is a Western disease. Reaffirm
A new, more effective drug for treating HIV is to be manufactured in Uganda . The drug, under the generic name Tenofovir , will be produced by Quality Chemicals starting early next year. Patients need only to take one pill once a day, as opposed to several drugs at time. Tenofovir is said to be more effective th
THE Mufti of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Sheikh Shaban Mubajje, has opposed the distribution of condoms to the youth, saying it is immoral. Giving the youth condoms is like sending them to have sex. The distributors know that the youth should not have sex before marriage and that condoms are not 100% safe, he s
A total of 18,000 more Ugandans are to receive free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs from Mildmay Centre, the charity s country director, Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, announced yesterday. This is after Mildmay received a five-year grant of $38.5m (about sh86.5b) from the Centres for Disease Control of the US government. Luyirika
NOT so long ago, the media was awash with news of Judith Koriang, a woman who had been sentenced to death by the Court Martial after she killed her husband following a domestic dispute. Apparently this young mother shot dead her husband after he tormented her for being HIV-positive, yet he was negative. This was a disc
VOLUNTEER palliative care givers in Busoga region have asked for more support to help them reach out to more patients. The team of volunteers, who specialise in providing care to cancer and HIV/AIDS patients, said their work was limited by a lack of basic resources. Our biggest challenge is transport. We want to reach
THE New Vision, on May 21, 2010 published the story of 33-year-old Agnes Nakitende, an HIV-positive mother of nine children, six of whom also have HIV. This Mukono family, which lived in a shack about to collapse, had given up hoping and was waiting to die. Three months after New Vision published her story; a new amazi
INFANT feeding in the era of HIV/AIDS is a serious challenge to mothers living with HIV/AIDS, especially those in low-income countries. While breastfeeding increases the risk of HIV transmission from the mother to the child, giving replacement feeds or breast milk substitutes is worse because it increases the risk of s
AT only four weeks, Winnie is disturbed. She cries all the time and refuses to suckle. Her mother, Maureen Nakatudde, is worried about her. Nakatudde first thought the baby had developed a fever. She went to a village nurse who told her Winnie s situation was temporary. However, Winnie got worse. She drooled, her mouth
Your questions and answers I develop sore-like patches on my tongue and the inside walls of my mouth one after another. I have been treating them with glycerin in vain. What could be the cause and how should I treat them? MOUTH sores can be painful and can interfere with eating. I would like to know what the colour of
HIV, with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, I recently visited a clinic for children living with HIV and felt much pain when I discovered that most of them were being cared for by their old and weak grandparents, assisted by very few health care providers. What should be done to put an end to this suffering of both children and
FOR many, the flaking of their scalp has become part of their lives and they are resigned to the fact that dandruff is there to stay. But as Vique-Ocean Kahinju writes, it could be a whistle blower for a bigger issue Dr. John Nsibambi, a dermatologist explains that excessive skin flaking can be triggered by an underlyi
THE court martial last week sentenced to death Judith Koriang, 20, for murdering her husband, Pte Nelson Okello. Koriang s woes started when a UPDF team of soldiers tested soldiers and their spouses for HIV. She tested positive and Okello was negative. This unfortunate turn of events earned her endless insults from her
REPRESENTING UGANDA ABROAD CONSIDERED a breakthrough invention in the prevention of infectious diseases, the micro-chemostat is a medical diagnostic chip co-invented by Frederick Balagadde. It mimics a biological cell culture environment in a web of tiny pumps and human hair-sized water hoses, all controlled by a multi
FORTY five districts countrywide are to benefit from a grant to improve efficiency in service delivery in districts. The sh80b grant, part of a US government assistance programme designed to improve social sector service delivery with emphasis on health and HIV/AIDS, at local government level, will be managed under the
AS the court martial handed the death sentence to Judith Koriang on Wednesday afternoon, the mother stood still with teary eyes. She bowed down as her eyes swept across the courtroom, from chairman Lt. Col. Eugene Sebugwawo to the other members of the 3rd Division army court. Koriang, a 20-year-old widow with a young s
People living or associated with HIV/AIDS are subjected to stigma and discrimination. They may lose their employment and livelihoods, property, social status, children and friends. They may be given sub-standard care or even denied care at health facilities. Stigmatisation and discrimination are violations of human rig
Government targets to circumcise 40 percent of men in Uganda in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Only 25 percent of Ugandan males are circumcised mainly from the areas where cultures and religion dictate. Speaking at the launch of the safe male circumcision policy in Kampala, state minister for health Dr. Richard Nduhura ex
NO one understands the frustration of being asked for work experience than a job hunter who is switching to another field of specialisation outside his training or current profession. But a fellowship - a non-degree programme aimed at enhancing individual proficiencies in identified fields of study or programmes - can
The increased rate of HIV infections among married couples is likely to constrain the service delivery by The Aids Support Organisation (TASO), a specialist has said. Dr. Daniel Bogere, the Tororo centre manager, explained that 1,309 new infections have been reported to the centre since January. Bogere noted that the a
THE New Vision on Monday September 6, reported that a new HIV virus strain- recombinant because it combines existing strains, has hit the fishing communities in Wakiso and Masaka districts along the shores of Lake Victoria. Whereas the Uganda AIDS Commission has dismissed the media report, arguing that the strain is no
Residents of Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, on Saturday rushed for an HIV/AIDS test. The drive targeted children aged between six weeks and 18 years and their mothers. I am happy to know my status. From today, I will avoid getting infected. I will encourage my husband to go for the test, Mariam Nalubowa said. The exercise,
Dental association on our oral policy YESTERDAY, September 12 was World Oral Health Day as declared by the World Dental Federation. Currently there is inadequate data on the oral health situation in Uganda . The last National Oral Health Survey was done in 1987. It showed that the main reason for tooth loss was tooth d
Lucy (not real name), a 32-year-old single mother, recently discovered that she has HIV. She shares with us her emotional experiences Humans, sometimes, find themselves in the position in which the foetus lies. This happens, especially, when the going gets tough and they are crying out to mummy - the person who gave th
THE US has delivered the first batch of the promised HIV drugs (antiretrovirals - ARVs) in its pledge to add 72,000 more Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS on free ARV treatment over the next two years. This means that by 2012, the American people, through the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), will be dir
The American government has offered Uganda Anti-retro-viral drugs worth 7 million dollars. U.S Ambassador Jerry Lanier says the emergency supply is to address the urgent need for life-saving medicine. The drugs have already been delivered to the National Medical Stores and Joint Stores for quick distribution to governm
Over 25 male babies have been circumcised in Kayunga in a campaign aimed at making them clean and reducing the dangers of acquiring STDs like HIV/AIDS when they become adults. The safe voluntary circumcision campaign for all male babies is being conducted by Kayunga Hospital together with Makerere University Walter Ree
A total of 72,000 more Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS are to receive free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, courtesy of the United States government. This will bring the number of beneficiaries of free ARVs to 290,900, up from 218,900. Almost half of the ARVs in the country are donated by the US through the President s Emerg
The ministry of health is to conduct a new survey to establish the current HIV prevalence in the country. New Infections are on the increase and the country needs up to date data, Uganda Aids Commission director general, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli has said. Uganda is still relying on figures generated in 2002 which puts the n
THE elderly who are still stranded in internally displaced people s camps in Lira district want Lango cultural leaders to strengthen the culture which faded during the 20-year-long war in the north. They said because traditional family ties had weakened, relatives were reluctant to support those who have been displaced
Mothers living with HIV/AIDS in Gulu district have for the last one year delivered 307 HIV-negative babies under the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme. The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Gulu coordinator, Dr. Brian Ngwatu, said only 10 children tested HIV-positive. A total of 192 mothers delivered
THE HIV prevalence rate is low among university students, a report has revealed. According to the report by the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), out of every 100 students, only 1.15% are HIV-positive, compared to the national prevalence rate of 6.4%. HIV prevalence stands at 28% among the fishing communities, truck driver
The dramatic growth in the delivery of health care services throughout Uganda in recent years is a remarkable one in which the US, through the US President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), plays a key role. In the past year PEPFAR funded the HIV testing of over a million pregnant Ugandan women as a first step
IS it really necessary? Will he recover? What if something goes wrong? Many mothers ponder over those questions when faced with circumcising their babies. But as Vicky Wandawa writes, the worries are unfounded Agatha s story My name is Agatha Bugonzi. I am a social scientist living in Mpererwe. I have one child, Keroi
From the editor TO circumcise or not to? Arguments have been raised about male circumcision (the removal of the foreskin from the penis), commonly practised for cultural and religious reasons. Lately, however, more people are embracing the practice, for medical reasons. Many people, the world over, are taking their new
Dear Doctor, I have been to several HIV treatment centres and was told they no longer register new patients for ARVs because their slots were full. I tested HIV-positive five months ago and when my CD4 count was done, it was 250 cells/ml. I am not sick and have stopped attending clinics, but I am scared. What can I use
PERSONS with disabilities (PWDs) have asked the Government and service organisations to give priority to their colleagues living in rural areas, saying they are marginalized. Andrew Biyinzika, the councillor for PWDs in Jinja central division, noted that organisations that aid disabled persons concentrate on urban cent
TWO months after the Centres for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) in Tororo closed its home-based aid care programme, the former clients have said they cannot afford to pay medical bills. About 1,000 HIV-positive clients from Busia, Tororo, Bugiri and Butaleja were benefiting from the programme. Under the programme
A new type of HIV has hit Ugandan fishing communities in Wakiso and Masaka districts on the shores of Lake Victoria, according to an ongoing research by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). The new virus strain has been defined as recombinant because it combines existing strains, the UN News agency IRIN News rep
AN additional 72,000 Ugandans living with HIV/AIDS will be enrolled for free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment over the next two years, following increased American funding. The US ambassador Jerry P. Lanier announced yesterday that funding for Uganda under the US President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would
THE director of Mulumba Inc, Stephen Wakhweya, accused of mismanaging sh31m of the Global Fund money, bought medical insurance worth 7.2m from the International Air Ambulance (IAA) Hospital. Flavia Nansubuga, the operational manager of IAA, told the Anti-corruption Court yesterday that Wakhweya was registered as a silv
IN July this year, at the International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria , researchers made a call for new efforts to stem the AIDS epidemic. This call takes us to another level in the HIV/AIDS fight. We need a combination of other HIV prevention approaches that complement the traditional behavioural ones like the ab
CHILDREN living with HIV in Kyannamukaaka in Masaka district have called for help as World Vision prepares to wind up its activities in the area. The children pleaded before the district Woman MP, Sauda Namaggwa, at the Buwunga sub-county headquarters. She represented the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi. My pa
GETRUDE had been married for barely three years when her husband started acting up. He would return home drunk every night and order her out of the house shouting that she smelt like fish. However much she bathed, she always had the foul smell. After getting two miscarriages, Gloria Nyamata is having a second thought a
Dear Doctor, Will I be able to get married? I am aged 30, HIV-positive and a single mother but have failed to get married since I want a man of my status who will not interrupt my treatment and is willing to have protected sex. How do I get a man who is HIV-positive? Julian Dear Juliana, CONGRATULATIONS on overcoming d
Dear Doctor, Someone told me that when a woman is on ARVs, contraceptives do not work because ARVs are stronger than contraceptives. Is it true? Anonymous Dear Anonymous, THERE are questions being raised about the effects on ARVS. This has led to an ongoing research about the effects of ARVS on family planning. The
ANGLICAN bishops attending the All Africa Bishops Conference in Entebbe have reiterated their firm stand against homosexuality. In speeches, most of which received standing ovations, the prelates said the practice was alien and an innovation of the truth . Present was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, whose
A total of 131 orphans have graduated after a four-year certificate course in organic farming and animal husbandry under the Kitovu Mobile Orphan Home Care Programme. About 2,200 orphans and needy children affected by HIV/AIDS have graduated in farming skills since the project, which is sponsored by
Dear Doctor, What do we do to reduce new infections, considering people are no longer listening to the messages that worked - the Abstain, Be faithful and Condom-use (ABC) strategy. Lydia Dear Lydia, While developing communication, education and information materials for HIV prevention, we need to remember that people
A recent study of HIV by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Entebbe among a fishing community discovered that some of the people had acquired the virus twice. The HIV subtypes are A, D and a combination of the two are (A/D or D/A) The MRC conducted the study in five fishing communities on Lake Victoria in the distri
About seven years ago, Dr. Moses Musaazi was approached by the Rockefeller Foundation to find a solution to the dilemma of keeping girls in school when they could not afford expensive sanitary pads. They asked for sanitary pads made out of local materials, he says. And that is how Dr Musaazi, a senior lecturer at Maker
KYEBANDO Vocational Training Centre in Kawempe, Kampala, on Friday held its 12th graduation ceremony where 109 students, most female, received certificates in different disciplines. The centre was started by Kamwokya Christian Caring Community to equip people affected by HIV/AIDS, former street children and other vulne
TODAY, on the International Day of Youth, and everyday, young people are searching for opportunities to pursue and fulfill their dreams. The world s more than 1.8 billion people aged 10 to 24 yearn for a world where they have the knowledge, skills and opportunities to develop to their fullest potential. While many peop
WORLD Vision Uganda has closed its activities in Kakuuto county in Rakai district. Jackson Wafula, the organisation s southern regional manager, made the disclosure at a farewell ceremony held at the county headquarters on Thursday. He said although the residents of Kakuuto still needed their services, they had to shif
SUNDAY afternoon I had a chat with an old friend. One of the memorable issues we raised was our generation s lifestyle. We noted how the number of pregnancies has gone up. I was intrigued. Ever get the feeling you are the only one not doing it ? Just when you are thinking she is probably not seeing anyone, she starts s
THE High Court in Jinja district on Monday sentenced a man to 29 years in prison for aggravated defilement. John Othieno was sentenced for defiling a 15-year-old girl. Othieno committed the offence the girl s one-room home in Polota village in Kakira sub-county. The minor, who was defiled on April 11 2009, testified th
The three former health ministers Jim Muhwezi, Capt. Mike Mukula and Dr.Alex Kamugisha are expected to appear this morning before the Anti-corruption court to answer to charges of embezzling over 6 billion shillings from GAVI. The officials are jointly charged with a former State House aide Alice Kaboyo for forging doc
PEOPLE living with HIV in Kasilo county in Serere district have asked the Government to give them priority during the implementation of the second phase of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF II). They called for the scrapping of conditions set for one to benefit from NUSAF II like having latrines, bathrooms,
GULU district administration will resort to forcing women to immunize their children as a means of preventing child deaths from the killer diseases. The acting district chairman Kitara Makmot said the health of the children who are tomorrow s future leaders and generation will not be left to the parents alone. The kill
MUSLIMS have said the only way to curb HIV is through reinforcing the fear of Allah and sharing HIV messages with other countries. Mufti Shaban Mubajje made the remarks at the opening of a regional conference on Monday at the Gadaffi National Mosque in Kampala. The theme was Our shared roles in curbing HIV/AIDS in Ugan
AN orphanage supported by Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), America s largest Christian television network, has been closed for operating below approved standards. The Jinja-based New Destiny for Children s Foundation was last week closed over failure to meet the children s basic needs. The district probation and wel
THE High Court in Fort Portal has sentenced a 35-year-old man to jail for 22 years for aggravated defilement. Zaverio Barugahare, a resident of Kabingo trading centre in Kamwenge district, was on Wednesday sent to Katojo Prison for defiling and infecting two minors with HIV. Court, presided over by Justice James Ogoola
IF you thought transporting a pregnant woman to hospital on a bicycle was difficult, then wonder no more. In Kalangala Islands, the only emergency means of transport are boats. Kalangala Health Centre has a well-equipped theatre but no doctor to carry out operations. So emergency cases are referred to Entebbe or Masaka
ELIZABETH Clare Namyalo is a teenager. She was born with HIV. Every week, she shares her experience of living with HIV/AIDS A group of friends and I decided it would be exciting to hang out in town together and have lunch. We loitered around popular teenage hangouts like Garden City Shopping Mall and Nakumatt Supermark
SYLVIA Kobusingye travels to Rwashamaire Health Centre IV in Nyabihoko sub-county, Ntungamo district, whenever she gets malaria but many times she hardly finds drugs, especially coartem, an artemisinin-based combination drug used in the treatment of the disease. The 23-year-old mother of two residing in Kyaruhunga vill
Maureen (not real name) a teacher, says she dated a man for two years but did not know he was married. He was young, very handsome. He used to take very good care of me and gave me all the time I needed. He never did anything to make me doubt him for even a second, she says. They met at the university and after dating
THE 18th International AIDS Conference was recently held in Austria with delegates from across the world including prominent names such as Bill Gates and former US president Bill Clinton. The conference ended with so many unanswered questions, key among them was the failure by several governments to invest heavily in t
ELIAS Habyarimana, 44, stands a few inches tall on the smooth floor at Lubowa International School, before an audience of mostly white philanthropic foreigners. The atmosphere around him is a stack contrast to the mud-and-wattle huts his peasant tribesmen back home in Kisoro are familiar with. The majority of the Batwa
UGANDA has been praised for banning female genital mutilation (FGM), with a call to other African countries where the practice still exists to follow suit. Addressing the First Ladies forum on HIV/AIDS at Speke resort Munyonyo yesterday, the African Union (AU) commissioner for social affairs, Bience Gawanas, said the p
Dear Doctor, I am four months pregnant and have just found out that I am HIV-positive. My CD4 count is 360cells/ml and I have no complaints. However, my doctor thinks I should start taking anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). I thought people start taking ARVs when their CD4 count goes down to 250 cells/ml and below. Why do I
THE news of a pregnancy should ideally be met with joy - but all too often there is justifiable fear. The African Union summit this week, set to focus on the health of mothers and children, has a chance to transform this fear into hope. Ten years into the Millennium Development Goals, we know what African leaders have
The Congolese women have asked Africa leaders to deploy an African Union force in the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect women and children against rape and murder. This is an African problem and the AU leaders should take the security of our women seriously, the Congolese President of the Network for Women and De
UGANDA has opposed the pending recognition of a South African gay rights group, Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), as an official observer at all African Union conferences, and to contribute to the NGO s forum. The African Charter and the Constitutive Act setting up the AU tell us to protect African values among our
Thousands of individuals have gathered in Vienna, Austria to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference. At the end of conference, there will be a signed declaration, calling for a for drug policy based on science, not ideology , since, the criminalisation of illicit drug users is fuelling the HIV epidemic and has
EXPERTS have linked the new cases of HIV infection in the country to the high alcohol consumption rate among young people. Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, the secretary general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, was speaking last week during the launch of the Prevention of Alcohol Abuse campaign at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala. He sai
THE Government has been urged to design special programmes on HIV/AIDS interventions for women and youth employed in the informal sector. This group, experts argued, are the most vulnerable to contracting the HIV disease. Lillian Mugerwa, the executive director of Platform for Labour Action, added last week that the gr
HE is four-and-half years old yet so thin you could mistake him for a one-year-old baby. He is frail, lean and emaciated. His skin looks pale and he cannot sit upright. He only bends on the side, probably because his chest is too congested. But despite all the pain and discomfort, Mohammad Luweesi can still afford a sm
A 15-year-old girl on Monday sent court into tears as she testified against an HIV positive man whom she claims defiled her. The girl could not hold back tears as she glanced at John Othieno, whom she said defiled her on April 11, 2009 at 4:00a.m at Polota village in Kakira town. The proceedings were presided over by J
RECENTLY, the media reported that the Government is set to launch a national policy on safe male circumcision to encourage men and boys to seek circumcision from health facilities. Reports show that the policy emphasises that safe male circumcision is an alternative HIV control measure. This is a very important strateg
Face HIV/AIDS with Dr Watiti Dear doctor, I am on ARVs and my CD4 count is high. I feel well most of the time and would like to have a baby before I get too old. However, my husband feels we should not have a baby because his CD4 count is very low and he fears he will infect the baby with HIV. Will the low CD4 count of
On Tuesday, May 18, the HIV Prevention and Control Bill was tabled in Parliament for the first reading. This is a milestone in Uganda s efforts to manage the HIV epidemic as it portrays the Government s commitment in the fight against HIV/AIDS. However, in its current form, the Bill undermines the public health of Ugan
THE spread of HIV from parents to their children can be prevented, an official has said. Dr. Peter Mugenyi, the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre, said this can be done if parents know their sero status and declare it to heath service providers for advice. We can end paediatric AIDS because we know how to
Despite international commitment to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS services by 2010, including 80% coverage for prevention of mother-to-child transmission services, progress toward these goals remains very slow. The rate of transmission for paediatric HIV remains unacceptably high. Data from the health ministry (
HEALTH in school is key for good grades and attainment of one s career dreams. According to the Population Council Inc. (2009) report, about 70% of the HIV-positive young people are in schools. However, in school HIV-positive students face many health challenges especially when parents do not tell them and the authorit
UGANDA S leading HIV funding of ARVs will not be reduced, the administrators have announced. The US President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will continue meeting its obligation to save people living with HIV, the PEPFAR communications officer, Lynne McDermott has confirmed. This was contrary to press report
THE Medical Research Council (MRC) on Thursday handed over the HIV Clinic and a renovated Children s Ward to Entebbe Hospital. During the same function, the VCT Clinic and the MRC/IAVI Research Clinic were opened by the state minister for primary health care James Kakooza. The Entebbe Medical Superintendent, Dr Moses M
I recently read about Kenya s commitment to the provision of antiretroviral drugs to its nationals with a lot of interest. According to a story that ran in PlusNews on June 14, Kenya has set aside sh900m ($11.25m) for the first time in its annual budget to purchase antiretroviral (ARV) medication. While this represents
UGANDA is among the top 20 poor countries in the world which are making the most progress towards achieving three of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a report. The Overseas Development Institute and UN Millennium Campaign report focused on progress on Goal 1, which seeks to eradicate extreme povert
THE Government should use people living with HIV/AIDS to step up the campaign against the scourge among the rural communities, an official has said. Agnes Apea, the National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA) boss, explained that people living positively are better placed to educate the community on the
THE Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) wants the 30% increment in teachers salaries to cover all teachers in government-aided schools countrywide. In the budget, the Government announced a 30% increment in salaries of scientists, primary school teachers, lower cadre health workers and security forces. However,
PEOPLE living with HIV/AIDS have launched a 10-point election platform seeking assurance from political parties and aspiring candidates that they will end the AIDS pandemic if voted into power. The activists said for them to vote, politicians must pledge to incorporate the platform in their manifestos. The platform out
THE state minister for the elderly and the disabled, Sulaiman Madada, has blamed poverty for perpetuating child labour. Madada made the remarks on Friday while officiating at celebrations to mark the International Day Against Child Labour in Mbale town. He said a survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicated
AS one woman shreds paper and mixes it with water, another adds coffee husks. They pour the mixture inside a pipe, about half a metre high. The pipe stands inside a wooden machine that presses the mixture and squeezes the water out. Another woman opens the machine and pulls out two small wheel-shaped briquettes (small
AS football fans from around the world arrived in South Africa to cheer their favourite teams at the World Cup, we must not lose sight of one unwelcome guest - HIV. Why should we talk about HIV during the World Cup? Two reasons. First, a celebrated sporting event such as the World Cup can encourage the spread of HIV th
Kanungu The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) has given sh49.9m to Kinkiizi diocese to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS among adolescents. The diocesan HIV co-ordinator, Andrew Agaba, on Tuesday said the money will be used to sensitise community leaders on how to develop appropriate messages to help the youth fight the disease.
ALL Uganda teams for the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be subjected to mandatory drug tests and counselling before they leave. The Games are due in October, in New Delhi, India . Dr. James Sekajugo (pictured left), a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Commonwealth Games medical committee, disclosed
EFFORTS to prevent new HIV/AIDS infections are in high gear with emphasis on married couples. At the moment, they may seem like the most vulnerable segment of our society, but there are people who need others to make decisions for them, yet without whom, our future is bare. These are the children. According to the Dece
AFRICAN women are no strangers to overcoming adversity. Everyday across Uganda , women perform small miracles, working long hours or travelling long distances to provide for their families. Increasingly, they are starting small businesses and running for office - while at the same time tending homes and raising childre
A High Court judge has criticised criminal investigation officers over the way they handle cases that require medical examination. Justice Owiny Dollo cautioned the investigators to always carry out thorough medical examinations on both suspects and victims. He said the Police investigators must not only carry out HIV/
THE Government has earmarked sh90b to increase the stock of malaria and HIV drugs, the National Medical Stores (NMS) chief executive officer, Moses Kamabare, has said. According to a circular received from the Government, Kamabare said, NMS will receive sh90b an increase from the sh60b it has been receiving for malaria
WOMEN in eastern Uganda do not report cases of incest to the Police for fear of being battered by their husbands.Moses Kakidi, the Butaleja district community liaison officer, disclosed this on Thursday at Kirewa sub-county headquarters during a World Vision sensitisation workshop on child-related offences held in Toro
THE Bushenyi resident district commissioner (RDC), Gaston Maliro, has urged the Government to provide lunch for pupils under the Universal Primary Education, saying this would control illegal fees. Maliro was appearing before the commission of inquiry into the mismanagement of universal primary and secondary education
RECENTLY, Parliament tabled a Bill on HIV/AIDS containing salient issues like mandatory HIV testing, disclosure, criminalisation of HIV transmission and universal access to treatment. On compulsory disclosure, the Bill contains two aspects of the health personnel and client notification. It states that a medical doctor
UNITED Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to African governments to spend at least 15 percent of their budgets on the fight against HIV/AIDS. He praised Uganda and President Yoweri Museveni for taking a lead in the fight against the scourge. Ban Ki-Moon said the epidemic remained a serious global proble
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the return to the HIV/AIDS prevention messages of abstinence, faithfulness and condom use in order to arrest the rising HIV infections. He said students should be told to abstain from sex rather than being told to use condoms. The condom was the third choice, in a reserved posit
THE Market Vendors AIDS Project has launched a free HIV/AIDS testing and counselling exercise in all city markets. The testing exercise kicked off recently at Bugolobi market. Javan Kagenda, the project officer, said the mass testing will be conducted in the 15 markets. According to statistics, there are close to 150,0
UGANDA has received $20m (about sh40b) from the Global Fund to fight HIV and malaria. the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) boss, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, said an announcement was made to that effect early last week. The money will be used to purchase drugs (ARVs), test kits and other health-related equipment. The recipients ar
IN an exclusive interview with The New Vision, Musa Bungudu, the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) Uganda country coordinator, talks to Frederick Womakuyu on Uganda s new HIV infections despite the campaigns to reduce or eradicate the epidemic. He suggests emphasising the behavioural change approach that
Elizabeth Clare Namyalo is a teenager. She was born with HIV. Every week, she will share with us her experience of living with HIV/AIDS. Here is her third article EACH time before I go to bed, I have to swallow a septrin tab and two small multivite tabs. Truthfully, this is a part of my day that I hate the most but I h
Face HIV with Dr Watiti Dear Doctor, I have been on Triomune which has just been changed to Combivir and Efavirenz because I was feeling burning sensations plus numbness in my feet. The problem has, however, failed to go away. Would reflexology which is widely being advertised help me
Every year the World commemorates Candle Light Memorial - a day when we remember all those who died due to AIDS related illnesses. This year s Candlelight in Uganda was commemorated on May 18, in Jinja. This was an important day and Ugandans should have asked themselves important and yet difficult questions. Is Uga
RAKAI and Lyantonde districts have launched a sh760m male circumcision programme to fight HIV/AIDS. Lyantonde LC5 chairman Fred Nayebale unveiled the programme at Lyantonde Hospital on Monday. The three-year pilot project, funded by the US-based Centre for Disease Control, targets males above 13 years. Dr. Gubala Ssent
THERE is an upsurge in HIV/AIDS prevalence in Gulu district from 9.4% in 2008, to 16% in 2009, with Gulu Municipality health sub-district leading with 22.1%. This has been partly blamed on the influx of sex workers in the region. John Charles Luwa, the district HIV/AIDS focal person, said out of the 14,424 pregnant mot
CHURCHES should put aside their religious inclinations and beliefs and unite against HIV/AIDS, an official of the Anglican church has said. The Rev. Geoffrey Muwanguzi, the Luwero diocesan secretary, said churches would achieve better results if they joined forces to fight the epidemic. Our differences don t matter. It
MY name is Monique Tondoi, a social economist, working with an international medical organisation. I am also involved in activism on access to treatment within Kenya , the African region and internationally. I tested HIV-positive in 1994. I live with HIV but do not have AIDS. I started using ARVs in 2004. I regret bein
A new study presented at the M2010 conference has revealed that the risk of a man acquiring HIV from a woman doubles as soon as she gets pregnant. The results were presented on May 23 at the International Microbicides Conference (M2010) in Pittsburgh, by Dr. Nelly Mugo of the University of Nairobi, Keny
A flexible ring containing two anti-HIV drugs showed in laboratory tests that it can deliver therapeutic levels of both drugs for up to 30 days, researchers reported at the International Microbicides Conference (M2010) in Pittsburgh. Vaginal rings have been used to deliver contraceptives and now this strategy is being
RESULTS of the first-ever study of a vaginal microbicide tested in pregnant women revealed that microbicides are safe for the mother and the child. The study found only small amounts of drug absorbed into the bloodstream, amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood. Previously, vaginal microbicides were avoided in pregnant
OVER 30 Ugandan researchers and experts are in the US for the international conference that opened in Pittsburgh on Saturday. HIV prevention researchers, policy makers and community advocates from more than 35 countries are meeting to discuss microbicides and other HIV prevention methods, like male circumcision, taking
RESIDENTS of Kasana in Luwero district have been warned against shunning persons living with HIV/AIDS.The residents were wondering whether children infected with the disease should be educated. If my child is HIV-positive, can I take him to school? Blazio Kamya, a resident, asked. The residents also wanted to know whet
HUMAN rights activists and the community of people living with HIV/AIDS have criticised the HIV Prevention and Control Bill that was tabled in Parliament this week. The Bill, drafted by the committee on HIV/AIDS, seeks, among others, to curb further spread of the disease and to make intentional spread of the disease a
Agnes Nakitende is HIV-positive. Six of her nine children also have the virus. At just 33, she is weather-beaten, you would think she was a 50-year-old. The man I asked for directions to her place referred to her as the woman who was cursed! Nakitende lives in Kirwanyi village, Seeta Nazigo, Mukono district. She confir
ACTIVISTS have criticised MPs for the provision in the HIV/AIDS Bill that criminalises intentional transmission of the disease. Addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga and Dr. Stephen Watiti said although they were consulted, their views were not considered. The draftsmen insisted on includ
AUTHORITIES in Gulu district are investigating claims that there is a brothel in Gulu town where young girls are recruited from villages and trained to become sex workers. The district HIV/AIDS focal person, John Charles Luwa, said they had information that the recruitment is taking place in one of the lodges in town.
THE HIV Prevention and Control Bill was yesterday presented to Parliament with measures to curb the spread of the disease. It was drafted by the parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS and tabled by MP Beatrice Rwakimari. During consultative meetings on the draft, several individuals and civil society organisations protest
THE number of people on anti-retroviral therapy has increased from 67,525 in 2005, to 200,213 in 2009, MPs have noted. In a report to Parliament yesterday, MPs on the HIV/AIDS committee said there has been significant progress in the provision of treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS since 2005. The commit
THE Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has appealed to the Government and law-makers to make strong laws to punish fathers who defile their daughters. We ask the Government to come up with strong laws which will punish fathers who make their daughters pregnant, Allen Balagadde, the wife of the former Namirembe bi
We have all been affected by the HIV/AIDS scourge; it could be someone close to us, or someone we know. Many have been unable to hold back tears when they encounter an orphan who lost their parents to the disease. But even worse, is when a child is living with the virus. No one knows the pain better than 29-year-old Ro
EACH year on May 18, people around the world commemorate HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. This is done to recognise and thank the thousands of volunteers, community members, health professionals, researchers and scientists who are working together to find a safe and effective HIV vaccine People who volunteer to participate i
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, Is there any harm if an HIV-positive person uses both ARVs and herbal medicines at the same time? And why is an HIV-positive person with a normal CD4 count is advised to swallow Septrin tablets daily? What are the advantages of Septrin? Deo Dear Deo, MANY people living with HIV (PL
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, Lyn Dear Lyn, TAKING ARVs in their right doses and at the right time as prescribed by a clinician, is known as adherence and very important for the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART). That is why it is important that all people living with HIV (PLHIV) undergo comprehensive adh
ELIZABETH Clare Namyalo is a teenager who was born with HIV. Every week, she will share with us her experience of living with HIV/AIDS. Here is her first article. As I walked into the counsellor s wing, I thought to myself: What the hell, let us go get the results and be done with it. I mean, I had not slept around con
THE Apac resident district commissioner has appealed to the Uganda Red Cross Society to educate the public on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. Alex Jurua made the remarks during celebrations to mark 151 years of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies on Saturday. He said a survey done by the d
GRAIN OF SCIENCE THe world gasped when South African President Jacob Zuma tested HIV-negative. And indeed, many people get surprised when they test negative. A study presented at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) recently, showed that Ugandans presenting at TB clinic overestimated
THE Jinja district Woman MP, Ruth Tuma, has called for the banning of overnight prayers. She said the prayers were one of the channels through which HIV/AIDS was rapidly spreading. Girls are coerced and others are intoxicated and end up having sex with the so-called brothers. Sometimes the culprits are church leaders.
Children living with HIV/AIDS will now be told why they have to take ARVS. This is in-line with the new curricular on HIV/AIDS counseling launched by the ministry of health recently. The Project coordinator of Strengthening HIV counselor training programe, Teddy Chimura says this will reduce on cases of non adherence.
MULAGO youth team was crowned champions of the Muslim Youth HIV/AIDS/STI sensitisation netball gala held at Kamwokya on Saturday. Mulago beat Ntinda 9-8 in the final of the one-day event despite having lost 4-2 to the same opponents in the preliminaries. The event attracted 50 boys and girls in various age brackets fro
Face HIV with Dr Watiti Dear doctor, Isn t it ironical that there are more HIV infections among married couples? Where did we go wrong as a church and how can we address the immorality undermining the sacred institution of marriage? Reverend John Dear Rev. John, THE fact that 60% of all new HIV infections are among mar
Face HIV with Dr Watiti Dear doctor, We have just started our brother on ARVs but three months into the treatment, he has developed swellings in his neck which were not there before. What should we do now? Were the swellings caused by the ARVs? Catherine Dear Catherine, SWELLINGS in the neck of a person living with HIV
OFFICIALS from the health ministry, led by minister Richard Nduhura, stunned MPs on Friday when they contradicted themselves on the criminalisation of intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS. Appearing before the HIV/AIDS committee, chaired by Beatrice Rwakimari, the officials said the section should be deleted. Dr Alex A
A study of HIV transmission between long-term HIV discordant couples in Africa has found that the chance of transmitting the virus to each other is reduced by at least 90% if the HIV-positive partner is on anti-retroviral therapy (ARVs). A discordant couple is where one partner is positive and the other is negative. Th
The prime-minister of Toro Kingdom, William Nyakatura, has called for more funding to support HIV/AIDS patients in Kabarole district. He argued that since the donors who have been funding HIV/AIDS projects are pulling out, there is need for local mobilisation of resources to fill the gap. Testing for CD4 count has been
THE African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, has launched a 12-month HIV and reproductive health project. The focal person, Jacinta Akwero, said the project would be carried out in Awach and Layibi sub-counties. Opening a one-day workshop at their offices in Layibi division, Akwero said they would fo
A court in Entebbe has charged a 28-year-old man with aggravated rape and remanded him to Kigo Prison Grade one magistrate Duncan Sande on Friday remanded Benjamin Bagonza for allegedly infecting a businesswoman with HIV after raping her. The Police said the woman was the fifth victim Bagonza allegedly raped. Bagonza,
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, When is the right time for one to start taking ARVs? My HIV-positive sister was advised by a counsellor to start taking ARVs because she had an oral thrush . The counsellor said this meant she was in stage three of HIV infection and should be put on ARVs. However, when a doctor tes
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I have been getting free ARVs delivered at home by visitors for the last three years and I have greatly improved. Unfortunately the programme has ended and I have been advised to find other AIDS service organisations to continue the treatment. However, I have tried two places and t
AFTER a week of hard work, a young woman in her late 20s, a community worker with an NGO, went for an outing at Kisementi, a famous Kampala hangout to shed off fatigue. She and her friends had fun till 2:00am, when she got a boda boda to take her home. Instead of taking the direction I had instructed him, he rode towar
THE parents of the girl allegedly defiled by an HIV-positive Catholic priest in Nebbi have rejected a Police request to drop the charges, insisting the law must take its course. Santo Onyai, the father of the 14-year-old girl, said Pakwach Police yesterday called him to make a statement withdrawing the case, but he had
THE Catholic priest who had been arrested for allegedly defiling a 14-year-old girl in Pakwach, Nebbi district, has been released amid protests from the victim s parents. The Police said yesterday they freed the Rev. Fr. Santos Constatino Wapokura, the parish priest for Pakwach, on the instructions of the resident stat
A senior Catholic priest based in Pakwach town in Nebbi district has been arrested by the Police on allegations of defiling a 14-year-old girl, who served in the church. The district criminal investigations officer, Henry Mulindwa, said the Rev. Fr. Santos ConstatinoWapokura was first arrested last week in Pakwach when
POLICE in Entebbe have subjected a suspected serial rapist to HIV tests to collate allegations that he infected a businesswoman with HIV after raping her. Benjamin Bagonza, who operates a taxi at Entebbe International Airport, was yesterday held at Entebbe Police Station. The criminal investigations officer, Dinah Nigh
THE hearing of an appeal of two directors of a local NGO against their conviction for embezzling over sh38m from the Global Fund has been delayed until the next session. Annaliza Mondon and Elizabeth Ngororano were sentenced to five years imprisonment by Justice John Katutsi for embezzling the money in 2005 as the dire
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, My brother, who was started on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) called Atripla, recently became confused soon after and developed severe headache and convulsions. The drugs were stopped, but the doctor says his CD4 count is very low at 25 cells/ml and he must be restarted on the drugs s
Uganda is set to produce food for people living with HIV and AIDS. The food called RUTAFA is to be manufactured by Reco industries. Rutafa is a ready-to-use therapeutic food currently imported from France . The coordinator of the project, Barbara Tanner says the food helps the victims on Anti-retro viral drugs to gai
Face HIV with Dr Watiti Dear Doctor, In 2009, I tested HIV-positive and my CD4 count was found to be 6 cells/ml. I visited a food supplement company and I was given treatment to boost my health. I was told in three months time I would have improved. Unfortunately, after one month I became worse. I developed a dry cough
Face HIV with Dr Watiti Dear Doctor, What advice do you give my sister who has got saved and now does not want to take ARVs because she believes she has got healed of AIDS? We are worried she might become sick again like before she started taking ARVs. However, she now looks fine which she attributes to prayer Bett
VOLUNTEERS with the Uganda Red Cross Society s (URCS) anti-HIV/AIDS programme have formed new community based organisations to boost the fight against the scourge. The organisations, based in Arivu, Uleppi, Bileafe, Katrini and Nyadri sub-counties in Arua district, will support bed-ridden persons and conduct HIV preven
IN an effort to take reproductive health information to visually impaired children in schools, Straight Talk Foundation has introduced a special product branded Young Talk and Straight Talk in Braille. The publication is designed in braille material, which the blind can read through touch. The editorial manager, Martha
JOSEPH Musoke, a resident of Ndejje in Wakiso district, is said to have walked to Nakulabye Police post and turned himself in for burning Kasubi tombs on March 16. According to Musoke, the ungodliness of the tombs was the cause of Uganda s problems and had to be destroyed for peace to prevail. But the middle-aged man s
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, My husband recently tested HIV-positive and I also teated positive. However, when we did our CD4 counts, I was found to have only 100 cells/ml while he had 350 cells/ml. Now he says I must be the one who got infected first because I have a lower CD4 count. I have never had sex with
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, I am 24 years old and recently had sex with my girlfriend who has says she conceived after a pregnancy test she took three days after the incident. She says she had protected sex late last year which I doubt because she has even never gone for an HIV test. She is sickly and I am ve
A total of 38 market vendors from 15 markets in Kampala have been trained in HIV/AIDS management. The participants, who were selected under the Uganda Market Vendors AIDS Project, were drawn from Kamwokya, Bwaise, Bugolobi, Nakawa, Kitintale, Park Yard, St. Balikuddembe (Owino), Kansanga and Nakasero markets. They
HOW much would it cost to ensure that women have healthy, planned pregnancies, to prevent needless deaths among women and their newborns, and to increase their chances of leading healthier, more productive lives? And how would the benefits compare with those of other investments? Around the world, governments face thes
MEDICAL stores in Iganga district are full of contraceptives because residents rarely use them, the district health officer, Dr. David Muwanguzi, has disclosed. He said the departmental store and health units have thousands of boxes of condoms and oral contraceptives awaiting free distribution. These are obtained from
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, My brother who tested HIV positive five years ago has been using herbal drugs which had a good effect, but now a doctor has advised him to start taking ARVs because his CD4 count has dropped to 250 cells/ml yet he looks healthy. Can he take both without being affected? Faith De
Dear doctor, My sister who is HIV-positive has TB and has been on treatment for three months has greatly improved. However, her CD4 count was found to be 450 cells/ml. We are worried about her because the doctors have not put her on ARVs and yet I have heard that all people who have HIV and develop TB should take ARVs
THE courts of law will dissolve abusive marriages regardless of the biblical undertaking that what God has put together no man shall put asunder . Speaking during the launch of a campaign to stop domestic violence, David Batema, the deputy registrar of the High Court s family division, said court would not enforce laws
ABISAAGI Rusoke, a mother of ten, has lost four of her children, albeit to disparate causes. She is also a grandmother of 12 children and has observed up-close, the high infant mortality in rural Uganda . Rusoke is not alone. Official reports indicate that 70,000 to 100,000 people die of malaria per year, or about 270
EDITOR - Figures from the Uganda AIDS Commission and UNAIDS indicate that Uganda has at least 1.2 million people infected with HIV. Based on the new WHO guidelines, where all people with a CD4 count of 350 cells/ml and below should be put on ARVs; about 500,000 Ugandans should be on these drugs. However, at the mom
A PROGRAMME to improve the health of over 20,000 people living with HIV/AIDS has been launched in Bushenyi district. The NuLife Food and Nutrition interventions programme was launched at Ishaka Adventist Hospital on Thursday. The programme targets also children above six months, the youth and pregnant women. Under th
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, My mother has been on ARVs since 1998 and her health has deteriorated. She was on Combivir and Efavirenz for six years and her CD4 count rose from 100 cells/ml to 300 cells/ml in the first year. However, it later dropped to 53 cells/ml and she deve
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, Is it true that some blood groups are stronger than others and can protect some people from getting infected with HIV? I know a man whose wife died of HIV, but he is HIV-negative. He married another woman who was HIV-positive and her husband had died of HIV. The couple does not use
An appeal, in which Teddy Sseezi Cheeye is challenging the 10-year jail term he got last year, is set for hearing on April 1 by the Court of Appeal. On April 8, last year, Justice John Bosco Katutsi, the head of the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, found Cheeye guilty of misappropriating sh120m from the Glob
THE Uganda National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has lobbied MPs to support a law that will create a national secretariat to promote culture and education in the country. A proposed law to set up the UNESCO Commission in Uganda, UNATCOM, is due to be prese
Grain of science Women are becoming infected with HIV during pregnancy at very high rates, a study in Kenya has revealed. Researchers at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco, suggested that care providers should repeat testing prior to delivery, or at the earliest pos
THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, has urged the youth to abstain from sex before marriage as their contribution in the fight against HIV/AIDS. You are the hope for the future, When you guard against HIV, Uganda will have responded to the fight against the scourge in a monumental way, she noted. Mrs Museveni was addr
LOCAL people in the north made a contribution of 70% in ending the LRA rebellion, Gulu deputy resident district commissioner, Milton Odongo, said recently. We should all guard the current peace jealously so that it stays forever. The Government will not allow anybody to abuse the prevailing peace, he said. Odongo made
GIFT Nakayiza, 25, engaged in commercial sex for two years. The mother of four says the business was lucrative. It was not until a team of community workers from Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) visited her single-room rented home in Mukalazi zone, Kawempe division, that she thought twice about prostitution. RHU s
DIANA Kateeme, a midwife, is what we would call a modern Florence Nightingale. Her heart is full of compassion and her hands are always working round the clock to save lives. This morning, she is standing-in for her boss, a medical doctor to man one of the heath centre IVs in Mbale because he is attending a conference
An 18-year-old woman in Kitgum town has been charged with malicious infection of an infant with HIV. Its alleged that Judith Atim on the 3rd of March this year,drew her blood contaminated with the Virus that causes AIDS and injected it into a two-year-old daughter of her neighbour. According to the charge sheet Atim, s
Did he infect me with HIV? Dear Dr, I had sex for the first time recently. He first put part of his penis in without a condom. Then he put on a condom. When we finished, he started joking about having HIV. He scared me. What should I do? Juliet Dear Juliet, Most likely you do not need to worry because he did not ejacul
THE prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Police is worrying, the AIDS control programme officer in the Uganda Police Force, Frances Mbabazi, has said. She attributed the infections among the Police to the nature of their work as they are the first to reach scenes of accidents where some of the casualties may be victims of HIV
THE World Organisation (WHO) has finally approved the antiretroviral drugs manufactured in Kampala by Quality Chemicals Industries, a local pharmaceutical giant. This means the company can produce for export and can benefit from contracts involving donor money. WHO only wants some minor details sorted out with the anti
Butiru, one of the remotest places in Manafa district, would have made history for having an MP of German descent had Elizabeth Schules Mwaka given in to her supporters pleas to join politics. But Mwaka is reluctant to heed that call just yet. They always ask me to stand (for parliament) but I would rather not because
IRCU is an initiative that brings together different religious institutions to address issues of common concern. Its membership comprises of the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda , the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, the Church of Uganda, the Uganda Orthodox Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Vision: A divin
SCOUTS and girl guides are part of the Government reserve force that can protect the country when matters of national security demand it, the Gulu deputy resident district commissioner, Milton Odongo, has said. He said Article 17 of the Constitution says it is the duty of all able-bodied Ugandans to undergo military tr
THE state minister for health, James Kakooza, was last week shocked to find that some health units in Moroto county Lira district, had been closed for weeks with no staff and drugs. Kakooza, accompanied by the Lira woman MP, Rebecca Otengo, visited Alebtong, Akura, Abia, Apala and Obim health units to asses their statu
TRADITIONAL leaders have resolved to contribute towards the prevention of hiv/AIDS. They also promised to promote maternal health by promoting positive aspects of culture in their communities. This was at the end of a three-day meeting organised by the Uganda AIDS Commission, UNAIDS a
THE health ministry has called on the Government to increase funding for the training and improvement of working conditions for midwives. This, officials argue, will reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, and maternal and infant mortality rates. Dr. Irene Akena, an advisor to the health ministry and the Unite
THE pro-Obugabe activists plan to petition the Constitutional Court to have the Ankole cultural institution restored, Prince John Barigye has revealed. Barigye said all kingdoms in Uganda were restored when the law on the restoration of cultural institutions was passed in 1993. However, the Government has not recog
Bundibugyo district has launched a chronic hunger sensitisation campaign that will target children younger than five-years old. A significant number suffer from chronic malnutrition, a senior government official has said. Uganda cannot wait to pay the price of malnutrition, the Minister of HeaIth, Stephen Malinga, sai
AS the semester comes to an end, students storm the lecture room, scrambling for seats. Thirty minutes later, there is no lecturer. Lecturers for both day and evening programmes in almost all faculties have taken to missing classes. Others teach classes when drunk. Some are accused of awarding free marks for sex, stagi
The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, has told those opposing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that it will not be withdrawn. He has instead advised them to present their views before the parliamentary legal affairs committee for consideration. We shall consider your views but we cannot withdraw the Bill. It has to fo
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, Considering the rise in new infections in Uganda and the fact that some of the people living with HIV in Uganda are homosexuals who are in hiding, don t you think the new anti-homosexuality bill in the offing is going to drive this epidemic farther underground? Dorothy Dear
Dear doctor, Last year, I had exposure to HIV. After about 50 hours of the exposure, I was put on a PEP combination of Zidovudine and Lamivudine . I have been taking the drugs for 45 days now. I often vomit and my finger nails are now black! What should I do and what are my chances of surviving HIV infection? Worri
TWENTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD Sylvia Sebyala, a former prostitute and now peer educator with Women at work International, was a commercial sex worker for five years. Life on the streets was unbearable; some clients would not pay the agreed fee, while others beat her up. As if that was not enough, there was the risk of getting in
LEVIAN Ashaba, a university student, has no regrets for having unprotected sex with his girlfriend Alice. He says the first time they had sex, she insisted on live sex because he was the first man she was having sex with. The two underlooked other dangers of unprotected sex like STIs and unwanted pregnancies. Their mai
THE Government s efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV is not yielding much success because of inadequate access to treatment, according to a study. The study was conducted last year by the Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV occurs during pregnanc
Infants with HIV who start treatment within three months of birth have a significantly reduced risk of developing AIDS or dying, European investigators reported in last year s edition of AIDS. Deferring treatment in infected infants is no longer an option, write the investigators. Without HIV treatment, approximately 2
Sun City, South Africa Condom supplies will be beefed up at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which has more HIV cases than any other country, a top medical officer said on Monday. There s going to be a large number of people who will be descending onto the country. There s going to be a spirit of festivity. The
KAMPALA - Residents of Lugala in Rubaga division will no longer worry about transporting their patients to bigger hospitals following the launch of ambulance services at Milne Medical Centre. The level III health centre, was started by a religious organisation, African Evangelistic Enterprise, in partnership with the K
Cases of mental illness among the youth are reportedly on the rise in the Rwenzori sub-region. The doctor in charge of the mental clinic in Fort Portal Hospital, Sr. Edith Alituha, said the hospital receives between 700 and 900 patients with mental complications every month. She noted that out of 900 people who report
Adolescents are at high risk of HIV infection.Worldwide, one out of every two new cases of HIV during the past year occurred in the youth between the ages of 15-24. In developing countries like Uganda , women are becoming infected at significantly younger ages than men, with more young women in their teens and early 20
Bantwana Initiatives, an international NGO, is to give support to 3,500 HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in the Rwenzori region. This was disclosed in a February 12 communication from the country co-ordinator, Inbal Alen, addressed to partners in the districts of Kyenjojo, Kabarole and Kasese. Through building
LIRA Widows in Lamgo sub-region have appealed to the Government to enforce a law that restrains relatives of their former spouses from grabbing their property. The women, most of who are widowed by the LRA insurgency and HIV/AIDS, said men were taking advantage of their vulnerability to grab what was left by their husb
FOR more than 20 years, Uganda has been fighting the valiant fight on AIDS. Looking back, I recognise that prevalence dropped from more than 20% in 1990 to around 6.4% today. Awareness is high. Strong messages, from AIDS kills in 1989 to today s get off the sexual network are well-known. Effective preventive medici
UGANDA is to receive sh84b from the Global Fund to support activities against HIV/AIDS and malaria. Dr. Kenya Mugisha, the director of clinical services in the Ministry of Health, said the malaria funds are expected next week in the form of 7.2 million insecticide treated mosquito nets. Part of the financial suppor
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I was on Triomune for over five years but it had to be stopped because of the pain in my feet which made it difficult for me to put on shoes or even walk properly. I was put on Combivir and Nevirapine but the pains have continued. What should I do now because I am not well? Edd
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I am on ARVs and my CD4 count is high. I feel well most of the time and would like to have a baby before I get too old. However, my husband feels we should not have a baby because his CD4 count is very low and he fears he will infect the baby with HIV. Will his low CD4 count increa
Clinics to offer free treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS have been opened in Dokolo, Amolatar and Oyam districts. The clinics were launched by the Northern Uganda Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Programme (NUMAT). They will also offer free testing of CD4 counts, support and provide encouragement to people livi
Members of various workers unions in Uganda have proposed that health workers should declare their HIV status before operating patients. This is not intended to harrass or cause stigma to any healthy work but it is for the safety of patients who can easily be infected in the process, said Moses Mawuku from the Confede
Kagadi hospital in Kibaale district needs more funds to serve the people in the region more efficiently, the executive director of the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) of Makerere University, Dr. Alex Coutinho, has said the hospital needs funds for its renovation and IDI cannot implement the plan because it is expen
Even with a salary to carry home at the end of the month, some nurses reportedly leave their patients to die unattended to in hospital. But even when she only earns a bare thank you for her services, Ronah Nyago will not turn her back on any of her patients. And she is indeed touching the lives of many mothers with kin
People living with HIV in Kasese district have been sensitised about the disease. Rehema Oryema, an official of the National Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, said: In Bukonzo West, 1,505 people, including 141 in Mpondwe/Lhubiriha, have come out openly to say they are infected. In Kasese town, 602 people have
THE Government is to set aside sh60b each year to overcome the shortage of ARVs, the head of HIV programming in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Zainabu Akol, has said. Akol said the money will help provide counselling for patients, testing and anti-retroviral drugs. She said the country has enough drugs for clients who had
SOROTI - The disaster preparedness state minister, Musa Ecweru, has warned married couples against having multiple sexual partners to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. He was presiding over the condom awareness campaign at Soroti Sports Grounds on Saturday. Ecweru asked the community to embrace condom use to prevent the
Health minister Dr. Stephen Mallinga has asked African nations to support Uganda s drug manufacturing company, Quality Chemicals Ltd., saying it has the potential to supply the regional market. The Luzira-based company manufactures anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV/AIDS and anti-malarial drugs. There is urgent need t
THE months of November, December and January saw malaria rise to epidemic levels because of prolonged rains. As a result, the national transfusion services even ran out of blood because of overwhelming cases of malaria-related anaemia. The blood bank recently embarked on donation campaigns, announcing that it now has a
IMELDA Kusaba sits on a bench in one corner of a private clinic in Kampala covering her face with a dirty, white handkerchief. The visibly weak and tired woman, in her mid-40s weeps uncontrollably as she narrates her ordeal. I live in Hoima and for the last four years since I was diagnosed with HIV and put on ARVs, I h
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I am HIV-positive and have a two-month-old baby who was delivered by Caesarean section who I am not breastfeeding. However, at the clinic where I get treatment, I have been told to give her septrin syrup for 18 months. The problem is she does not like the syrup. While pregnant, I t
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I tested HIV-positive in 2007, and my CD4 count then was 473 cells/ml. Recently when I went for a check-up, it had risen to 737 cells/ml. However, I was not taking drugs. Now my doctor has advised me to start using septrin. Do you think by taking septrin, my CD4 count will continue
UGANDA today joins 12 other countries in marking the International Condom Day, with emphasis on HIV prevention. The ceremony in Soroti will involve free HIV counselling and testing and condom distribution. According to the programme director at Uganda Cares, Dr. Lydia Buzaaliwa, the use of condoms is the cheapest and m
OVER 1,000 HIV patients that have been receiving treatment under an American-funded research project in Tororo and Busia are to be referred back to The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) when the programme winds up in June. The Home-Based AIDS Care Project by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-
THE prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Kasese and Kabarole districts is on the increase, an official from the Uganda National AIDS Service Organisation (UNASO) said. Speaking during a meeting at Virina Gardens in Kasese town recently, the UNASO advocacy officer, Florence Ayo, said in the last eight months, the disease has shot
Religious leaders have been urged to include HIV prevention strategies in their programmes. Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, the Uganda AIDS Commission boss, said religious leaders were key partners in the fight against HIV because they have the power to convince the congregation. It is time we involve religious leaders who were n
PITCHING camp in Masulita sub-county, one of the war zones in the NRA struggle, President Yoweri Museveni vowed not to let anyone destablise the country again. Congratulations upon surviving the liberation war. I want to assure you that no one can destablise the country again. The President made the remarks at the comm
The public has expressed mixed reactions about a proposed Bill on HIV/Aids that sets a 10-year jail sentence for people who knowingly spread the virus. According to the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill 2009, spreading the disease knowingly will become a criminal offence. It also seeks to introduce mandatory HIV/AID
A STRINGENT bill on HIV/AIDS is expected to be presented before Parliament this month. Under the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill 2009, spreading the disease knowingly will become a criminal offence. Anybody who willfully and intentionally transmit the disease faces a fine of sh4.8m or imprisonment of up to 10
THE Police and local leaders in Lweyo, Bulera sub-county in Mityana district have closed a born-again church following allegations that it was operating illegally. The local leaders had earlier complained to the Police that people were being starved and the sick prevented from seeking medical help by the Miracle Healin
THE AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) has received sh200m from Civil Society Fund for the education of orphans of it s former clients in Gulu district. About 1,073 orphans will receive vocational, secondary and primary education. According to the regional TASO project officer, James Oliama, the organisation has provided
WOMAN ACHIEVER 2010 Nominee THE aroma of pineapples strikes me a kilometre away. As I alight from a commuter taxi, all I see are solar driers lined in rows. The heat is unbearable. Sliced pineapples are spread over green gauzy mesh, supported by wooden frames. About 10 people are peeling and slicing pineapples almost a
IMAGINE saving 99 lives and consequently losing your own. It is ironic, yet a reality for many health workers in Uganda . Like soldiers on the frontline, health workers risk their lives amid outbreaks of highly contagious diseases including Hepatitis B, H1N1 virus and ebola. Among the most memorable is the late Dr. Mat
FOOD insecurity may have no borders but its effects are far more consequential for those bound up in other predicaments. And for people living with HIV/AIDS, the effects of food insecurity are profound. Sandra Karungi, a woman living with HIV, says antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are too strong to be taken on an empty stoma
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, Recently when I went to collect my ARVs from the clinic, I was given only Combivir because Efavirenz was out of stock. What should I do because I was once told never to miss any dose. Can I change and swallow Nevirapine instead since I hear it is s
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, Recently I heard that there is a new microbicidal gel for women being tried out called Tenofivir Gel which can kill the virus if an HIV-negative woman uses it before having sex with an infected man. I am in a discordant relationship. My husband is HIV-positive and on ARVs (
EDITOR - I was surprised when I read The New Vision online on Tuesday an article entitled, Nebbi chiefs to fight poaching . The reporter misquoted Genesis Okello that bush meat consumption was a threat to human health as it can spread diseases like hiv, anthrax and Ebola. Genesis Okello is the Bush Meat Free East Afric
THE Vice-President, Dr. Gilbert Bukenya, on Tuesday commissioned modern laboratories at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. The laboratories will be used to carry out scientific research and clinical studies. They will also be used for trials on vaccines for HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. The
KITGUM The district health officer, Dr. Alex Olwedo, has said 28,000 people in Lamwo and Kitgum districts are infected with HIV. He said the statistics were derived from the prevalence rate of HIV infection in the districts which stands at 8.2% against a population of 352,000 people. Olwedo said out of the 28,000 infec
THE Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has partnered with chiefdoms in Jonam county in Nebbi to fight poaching and bush meat trade in the district. Poaching, UWA said, was threatening wildlife in the Murchison Falls National Park. The traditional chiefs have vowed to curse the poachers. During the launch of the campai
Vice President Professor Gilbert Bukenya says HIV/AIDS research should focus on the dynamics of transmission. Bukenya says this will lead to further reduction in prevalence and incidence. Bukenya said this while officiating at the 20th Anniversary of the Medical Research Council and Uganda Virus Research Insti
IT was really painful for Anita to come to terms with the fact that she was HIV-positive. At 23, fresh from university, my life was just beginning, she says regrettably. At first I thought of going on an infection spreading spree, but I changed my mind. It is not worth it. Recklessness will kill you faster because you
BARBARA Crane, the executive vice-president for technical leadership and advocacy for Ipas, an NGO that advocates women s reproductive rights, says more than 20 years into the epidemic, HIV infection still carries enormous stigma. Women who are also dealing with unwanted pregnancies face an even greater burden, thus th
BLACK and Hispanic HIV-positive women who have been through menopause might be at a higher risk of bone fractures than similar HIV-negative women, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. As bone density decreases with age, people are at increased risk of bone fractures.
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti FEEDBACK Dear Doctor, In The New Vision of January 25, a sex worker asked a question that you did not answer correctly. As you know, it is widely known that HIV-positive people should not have sex frequently if they want to live longer. So the lady wanted to know whether this is a myth or not.
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I have been on ARVs for 10 years now and I am okay except that I have had my ARVs changed to second line after being on first line for nine years. My CD4 count had dropped from 600 cells/ml to 150 cells/ml in the last two years. Now I am worried and want to know how long I can be o
A new research project worth 3.5m euros was on Thursday launched at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. The project, known as the East African Consortium for Clinical Research, will be coordinated by a secretariat based at the institute. The achievement came after a competition with other countries, which e
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed to change the time when people living with HIV start on ARVs. Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, the director of Uganda Aids Commission, says WHO recommends that people living with HIV start on ARVs when their CD4 count is below 350 and not 250 as has been the case. This means ab
Dear Doctor, My brother has been dating a young lady and they have agreed to get married. However, when they went to test for HIV, she was found HIV-positive while he was negative. We have advised my brother against the marriage but he does not want to leave her. What can we do? Grace Dear Grace, HIV is no longer seen
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I am a sex worker who is healthy and insist on using condoms with all my clients. Is it true that if an HIV-positive person has sex with many sexual partners frequently, increases the risk of dying early? M Dear M, IT is not the number of sexual encounters that determine whether on
AT 71, Phil Harvey, founder of Population Services International (PSI) - now PACE Uganda , still trades in what global moralists condemn - pornography, to fund contraceptives and HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in developing countries. I run a sex shop on mail order, Harvey proudly says, during an exclusive interview at
AS the bus plying the Busia-Mbale route stops in Tororo, a man suddenly gets onto the bus and convinces passengers to buy life- giving herbs. I know you are all tired from your long ride, but matters of health are very important. Therefore, you must listen carefully, he says. Luyombya Mukasa earns a living from selling
She tested positive and I m negative Dear Dr, I am 29 with two children. My wife tested positive for HIV and I was negative. So I got another woman. However, she also tested positive eight months ago. Since then, I have been doing comprehensive HIV tests at Mulago and I am negative. I feel I should stay away from every
BESIDES free Universal Secondary Education in Uganda , several organisations and private schools offer scholarships to students who excel but cannot afford to pay their fees. Organisations mainly offer scholarships to needy students while schools sponsor best performing and talented students. Talented students are
HER heart might be in the right place, but Peruth Apolot s passion for fashion is still lacking if she hopes to change lives with it. The young designer, is a second year student of art and industrial design at Kyambogo University, and she was featured at Club Silk Fashion Nite last Thursday, where she showcased two co
Dear Doctor, I have had rashes on my hands and feet since 2008. Some of them are like burns. I have tested for HIV/AIDS and syphilis three times and all the results were negative. What could be the problem? David Dear David, HIV/AIDS is associated with a number of skin conditions but not all skin conditions are a sign
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, My drugs were recently changed of late and it worries me. I had failed on Triomune and so was put on second line drugs (Alluvia, Tenofovir and Didanosine) when my CD4 count was just 6 cells/ml. Now it has risen to 360 cells/ml and I feel fine. However, my doctor says the drugs may
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear Doctor, I have been on ARVs for two years and have not had any problem until recently. I was taking one tablet of Atripla at night and it was very convenient for me since I work in a very busy shop. Recently, Atripla was out of stock and I was put on Truvada
CARING about the needs of others more than your needs can make you feel like you just saved 1,000 lives. Donating blood feels great, especially when you understand that one hour of your time and one pint of blood would save a life. When most people roll up their sleeves to donate blood, they do it to help others who ar
DR. Dorothy Kyeyune, the director of the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service, insists they target students because they are healthier, with minimal wastage of blood and they are willing. The adult community often lets us down. They claim to work so hard, not to eat well and lack enough blood. Besides, adults are sexually
KAMPALA - Fewer employees in work places use condoms distributed by the Government, an official has said. The deputy AIDS controller in the local government ministry, Jolly Ssonko, said on Tuesday that people now use less than two gross packets of condoms distributed, which he feared would lead to the increase of the h
RESIDENTS of Dokolo are undergoing sensitisation on the prevention of hiv through mother-to-child transmission. A research done by the district health team said mother-to-child transmission was high due to lack of sensitisation. The research was done in the six sub-counties of Kwera, Kangai, Bata, Dokolo and Agwata and
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has cautioned those advocating for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to go slow , saying the matter was a sensitive foreign policy issue. David Bahati (NRM) tabled a private member s bill late last year making the offence of homosexuality liable to life imprisonment. The President, while addressing
THE Uganda Youth Forum (UYF) annual conference is here again and so every young person has something to savour in the New Year. Here is a chance to meet schoolmates not to discuss academics this time, but life matters and everyday experiences. Expect a panel of individuals who will have your desires and ambitions put o
IN traditional Africa, gonorrhoea was one of the major sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) leading to high rates of infertility and blindness in children. With medical advancement, the disease started declining progressively, becoming invisible, especially with the advent of HIV/AIDS. However, medical experts reveal t
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, I was tested for HIV two months ago and found that I was HIV-positive. My CD4 count was also found to be 350 cells/ml. I have no signs of ill health but my doctor has advised me to start taking ARVs.He says I should not wait until I am sick. However, I have failed to get free ARVs
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, Considering the new UNAIDS recommendation that people who are HIV-positive and have a CD4 count of 350 cells/ml or less should start taking ARVs; what advice do you give to us who have been turned away from AIDS service organisations because they have not yet covered all people liv
FIVE medical workers have been arrested in connection with the theft and sale of government drugs in private clinics. The suspects were picked from Gweri sub-county in Soroti district on Tuesday. This brings the number of medical workers arrested in connection with drug theft in Soroti to 18 after 13 were arrested on D
SUPPLIER PRE-QUALIFICATION Integrated Community Based Initiatives (ICOBI) is a national NGO established in 1994 to improve the quality of life of people living in rural communities. Since its inception, ICOBI has been implementing programs in the health and community development fields. ICOBI is implementing EMPOWER OV
LOSING a husband was the worst thing that could have happened to Sarah Namusoke, a 35-year-old widow and mother of four in Jinja district. With nothing left for the survivors, all they could inherit were debts - in all aspects of life. They ranged from unpaid school dues for the children, debts at shops, where they had
Dear Counsellor, A friend of mine, AG, approached me for advice, but I felt that I could not handle it, therefore, I am seeking your help on how you can help her. She is 26 years old and has been in a relationship for three years with a man aged 40. She has a one-and-a-half-year-old son. This is a girl who fell in love
The Parliamentary committee on HIV and Aids welcomes decision by the United States of America to lift a ban on HIV positive immigrants. US president Barrack Obama announced lifting of the ban to be published today and would take effect after a routine 60-day waiting period. Obama had promised to end the ban before the
WITH only treatment but no cure, a sure preventive method for women, that could act like condoms do for men, would be the best news in this era of HIV/AIDS. But once again, the female species, who are most vulnerable to infections and effects of HIV have been denied this one arm that could form the arsenal of preventio
EVERY new year, we make resolutions. What is yours? To buy a car, enter your new house, get hitched, dump that gold digger...? Hello, where is health? Well, we bring you a list of expert tips on how to live healthy in 2010. Dentistry Of course the teeth are already at their job - munching away. Prioritise their care in
Face HIV with Dr. Watiti Dear doctor, My husband and I have been married since 1994. Before we started living together I conceived and when I went for antenatal care, I was tested for HIV and found positive while he was negative. Over the last 15 years, we have had mostly un-protected sex and produced six children one
A child born in Uganda today will live longer, and has better access to safe water and education than he would have had 10 years ago. However, the child enters a more unequal society than a decade ago, with the gap between the rich and the poor having grown bigger. Life expectancy at birth in Uganda was 43 years a deca
OVER-TIME, the court has decided on a number of high-profile cases. In a series, Saturday Vision looks back at some of the attention-grabbing cases that visited the court room. JUST as he had started his campaign tour as a presidential aspirant in 2006, Kizza Besigye was arrested at Busega, a city suburb, and charged w
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