HISTORY ABOUT AIDS IN UGANDA AFRICA.
READ ABOUT HIV/AIDS IN UGANDA.
Uganda is often held up as a model for Africa in the fight against HIV & AIDS. Strong government leadership, broad-based partnerships and effective public education campaigns all contributed to a decline in the number of people living with HIV & AIDS in the 1990s.
Although there is a lot to learn from Uganda’s comprehensive and timely campaign against the AIDS epidemic, emphasising Uganda’s success story must not detract from the devastating consequences that AIDS continues to have across the country: personally, socially and economically. There are currently an estimated 940,000 people living with HIV in Uganda, and a further 1.2 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS1.in our Ministry of out reach for these years we have had to offer prayers and encouragement to people who have HIV/AIDS .Some teachings as much as we can afford .The History of AIDS in Uganda
The history of AIDS in Uganda can be divided into three distinct phases.
The first stage saw the rapid spread of HIV through urban sexual networks and along major highways from its origin in the Lake Victoria region. Doctors in this area had become aware of a surge in cases of severe wasting known locally as ‘slim disease’, as well as a large number of fatal opportunistic infections2. In 1982, the first AIDS case in Uganda was diagnosed3 and the link between ‘slim disease’ and AIDS was clinically recognised. It was not until 1986 when the Ugandan civil war ended and President Museveni was firmly in power that the country had a major HIV prevention programme. By this time the country was in the midst of a major epidemic, with prevalence rates of up to 29% in urban areas4.
The programme promoted the ABC approach - abstain, be faithful, use condoms.
Uganda’s first AIDS control programme was set up in 1987 to educate the public about how to avoid becoming infected with HIV. The programme promoted the ABC approach (abstain, be faithful, use condoms), ensured the safety of the blood supply and started HIV surveillance5. Strong political leadership and commitment to tackling the rampaging AIDS epidemic was a key feature of the early response to AIDS in Uganda.
Prevention work at grass-roots level also began in this era, with a multitude of tiny organisations educating their peers about HIV. One of the first community-based organisations formed was TASO, The AIDS Support Organization, which was run by sixteen volunteers who had been personally affected by HIV/AIDS. TASO later became the largest indigenous AIDS service organisation providing HIV/AIDS services in Uganda and Africa, providing emotional and medical support to many thousands of people who are HIV positive6.
The second phase of the Ugandan HIV epidemic ran from 1992 to 2000. During this period the HIV prevalence fell dramatically, from a peak in 1991 of around 15% among all adults, and over 30% among pregnant women in the cities7, to around 5% in 20018.
It is thought that the government’s ABC prevention campaign was partly responsible for the decline in prevalence. However, as treatment was not widely available in Uganda during this time the high numbers of AIDS-related deaths also contributed to the reduction in the number of people living with HIV.
The Ugandan government’s prevention initiatives continued throughout the nineties with high levels of funding from both the government and international donors such as the World Bank9. In 1998, the government ran a trial to test the feasibility of rolling out effective anti-AIDS treatment to people in developing countries.
HIV EDUCATION IN SCHOOL.
A Woman and her baby in an ART Clinic waiting room at Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda.
People living with HIV & AIDS in Uganda not only face difficulties related to treatment and management of the disease, but they also have to deal with AIDS related stigma and discrimination. Stigma and discrimination towards those affected by AIDS are visible at all levels of society from families and local communities to the government. President Museveni himself supported the policy of dismissing or not promoting members of the armed forces who test HIV positive, and in 2001 he suggested that a rival presidential candidate was unsuitable for office because he was allegedly infected with the virus. Discrimination has also been reported in the private sector, including mandatory HIV testing for new employees. As well as hurting those affected, such attitudes are a major hindrance to prevention and treatment efforts
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A community based AIDS information centre provides HIV testing for adults and children.
Uganda has also begun to implement routine or ‘opt-out’ testing (whereby anybody who enters a healthcare facility is tested for HIV unless they specifically ask not to be) in some healthcare settings. Trials of routine testing had overwhelmingly positive results, showing that this style of testing identified those infected at an earlier stage of their infection (before they were symptomatic) and therefore increased their survival rate51. A study in two large Ugandan hospitals with a high HIV burden found a high rate of routine testing uptake with only 5% of people refusing the test.
In 2007, HIV testing and counselling was available in 45% of health facilities in the country, and 15% of people aged 15 years and above had received HIV testing and counselling in the previous year. As an estimated 80% of Ugandans remain unaware of their HIV status it is vital that testing is stepped up to prevent further transmission.54 55.
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The waiting room at an ARV Clinic in Uganda.
Uganda was the setting for one of the first test programmes in Africa distributing life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) medication. The programme began in 1998 with the aim of assessing the feasibility of setting up and running an antiretroviral (ARV) drug clinic in a resource-poor country. The patients involved had to pay for their medication, although at reduced prices. After the study was complete, the Ugandan Ministry of Health used the lessons it had learned to set up its National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS56.
It was not until June 2004 that Uganda began to offer free ARV medication to people living with HIV as part of a five-year pilot programme. The initial consignment was funded by the World Bank, with future drugs to be paid for by a Global Fund grant of US$70 million and large grants from America's PEPFAR initiative57. Although the initial drugs roll out was fairly slow, within two years 41% of those in need were receiving HIV treatment58; this increased to 56% in 200659.
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