Lessons from Nanyonga for 2013

RACHEAL NINSIIMA

All year round, HIV has been in and out of the news - sometimes on a positive note (with the discovery of new preventive measures) and other times on a negative note, especially with new infections and rates rising. In this New Year, we bring you the story of Annet Nanyonga* which perhaps could inspire you to a healthier lifestyle as we get closer to the 2015 goal of zero new infections.

Nanyonga’s story:

As I moved up and down in my room one afternoon, I noticed I was missing my wallet. But it was not only the wallet. My bangles too were gone. I knew it wasn’t a case of theft but I desperately needed the money in the wallet. What was I to do? Panicking, I ran from drawer to drawer, then the cupboard, under the carpet then oh, I remembered. I had helped out at the neighbour’s and I had placed my small weekend bag in the guest room the previous day.

So I to the neighbour’s house and before I could mention my problem, the maid said: “Sorry uncle has just left and aunt Shafik escorted a visitor but you can come in and wait.” I told her why I had actually come over and she told me she wasn’t sure but could open the guest room for me to check.

The bag wasn’t where I had left it, but when I peeped underneath the clothes, I found it.

As I reached out for it, something sharp and piercing penetrated though my palm. It hurt so much I withdraw my hand so fast but the damage was already done. I called out to the maid as blood oozed out. The maid helped me fix a cloth on the wound and I left.

Later in the evening, auntie Shafik came to visit me. I think the maid told her about what had happened, so she felt the need to console me, I presume. I was glad she came because I didn’t want to look like I had broken into her house. To my surprise, that wasn’t the reason she was at my house.

She told me that the razor that cut me apparently had just cut baby Shafik but most importantly, that she, Shafik’s mother had HIV although they hadn’t yet checked baby Shafik’s status.

They were still waiting for him to make a year because they feared he may turn out positive at a tender age. She told me she was in a discordant relationship with Taata Shafik.

My heart sunk. I was shocked and angry, although I didn’t know who my anger was directed at.

 “You can go for an HIV test at TASO,” she encouraged me. Why should it be me? I had just gone to pick my bag; why did I forget my bag? Couldn’t they trash the razor after it cut the baby? Why didn’t the maid tell me to be careful? Unfortunately all these questions could not help.

I called a friend who happens to be a health expert and he told me that testing immediately wouldn’t help much; I had to wait three months before I could be sure.

Nonetheless, I went to TASO and was warmly welcomed. A gentleman talked to me like he knew exactly how I was feeling and what I was going through. He explained to me all the terms of HIV/AIDS including positive living and he told me since it was just the day before that I had been exposed, I could be enrolled onto something called PEP which he explained.

He requested me to tell my neighbour to bring the baby for testing since he was past six months which is the requirement for babies to be tested. That was equally good news for me because I could tell my status from the baby’s results.

When I called mama Shafik, she promised to oblige since the doctors and counsellors of TASO knew her and she respected them. She brought the baby, got tested and after a few minutes of renewed tension and fear plus all sorts of imaginations, the mother was first called in. Later I was called in after she agreed it was okay for me to know the child’s results in her presence.

 “Well,” the counsellor went on, “what would happen if this baby had the virus?” I gave him all my options which included, shifting from my neighbourhood and starting PEP immediately which he said he understood. He went ahead and advised on what I could do in case the baby turned out to be positive.

Remember we were just counting on the baby’s results. He offered me all kinds of advice on how to avoid catching the virus in case I turned out negative but honestly, I was already tired of waiting for the results by this time. I should say all this talk helped me a lot and if it wasn’t for it, I would be making the wrong choices right now.

Anyway, baby Shafik tested negative and I hadn’t contracted the virus too.

Last word: We need to live positively, avoid new HIV infections by being faithful and using condoms. Let us try to find information about HIV from all AIDS support centres because a world without HIV is what we are all hoping for.

ninsiima@obsrever.ug

*We have changed the names to keep the story teller’s privacy                      

Case backlog rises again – FHRI report

RACHEAL NINSIIMA

A report by the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative has found that the court case backlog has gone up again for the third year running, despite initiatives to deal with the problem.

The annual report titled; ‘The right to a fair trial – Next steps’ found that the case backlog had gone up from 156,705 cases in 2011 to 161,071 in 2012, an increment of 4,366.  This case backlog refers to cases that have been in the system for more than two years.  

The report attributes this increase to several factors, among them the shortage of staff in the judiciary.

“A shortage of judicial officers and state attorneys is a major hindrance to effective access to justice in Uganda. For example the Supreme Court can’t conduct business since there are only six justices instead of 11. The court of appeal has seven justices instead of 15, to deal with about 3,000 cases. The High Court has only 45 judges instead of 80, yet some are serving outside the country,” the report reads.

The deficit contributed to long detentions and remand that saw 3,788inmates on committal – awaiting a hearing, as at March 31, 2012.

The FHRI report also shows that state attorneys are also in short supply - there are 172 state attorneys instead of 209, leaving a gap of 37 state attorneys.

Although the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) recruits 30 state attorneys every year, the demand for state attorneys has exceeded supply as more districts come into effect. For instance Moroto has only one who is also rarely available – leading to delays in sanctioning files for prosecution.

The report quotes George Engena, a state attorney in Gulu, lamenting; “Sometimes state attorneys like us are few when the magistrates are many. You find 10 cases have gone before a magistrate and there is no state attorney so they keep adjourning. So those cases keep on piling.”

Inmates are also often made to wait the whole day at court, due to irregular reporting times of judicial officers, and in some cases are sent back to prison without having their cases heard.

As if this was not bad enough, corruption also continues to rear its face in the judiciary, and is largely responsible for the denial of bail, according to many inmates – who blame their long stay on remand on the inability to bribe a magistrate.

But Erias Kisawuzi, the judiciary spokesman, says they are continuing to fight the vice. “Five magistrates were charged and two convicted in the last two years,” he said.

The Army court martial is also notorious for long stays on remand.

Quoting Avocates sans Frontiers, the report notes that 32% of prisoners were illegally detained and 58% of these cases were before the court martial. They had all exceeded the statutory period. Article 23 of the Constitution emphasises that those facing non capital offences shall be released after 60 days, while those on capital offenses must be released after 180days.

The report also cites inadequacies in the police’s investigative ability for delays in prosecutions. Of the 40,000 police officers on the payroll, there are only 20 gazetted forensic experts, a ratio of 1 expert for 825 Ugandans compared to the global standard of 1:450.

“Arrests by plain clothed officers often lead to further infringement that relate to the right to fair trial such as being detained for prolonged periods of time before being brought to court,” Livingstone Sewanyana, Executive Director of FHRI says.

To mitigate these challenges the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) supported the judiciary in reducing the stay on remand from five years in 2010 to less than one year in 2012. Pre-trial detainees have reduced from over 70% to 53%.

To register more success in promoting the right to a fair trial, Principal Judge Hon Justice Yorokamu Bamwine has called for continued dissemination of findings in order to raise awareness in the legal fraternity.

Ugandans should not relax about HIV/AIDS

RACHEAL NINSIIMA

When Uganda became a worldwide role model in the fight against HIV/AIDS decades ago, nobody knew that the country would need rethinking its strategy due to a prevalence upsurge.

The prevalence rates have been going up from 6.4% according to the 2004/2005 HIV/AIDS Sero Behavioural Survey (UHSBS) to 7.3% in 2011 according to the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey (UAIS).

The estimated number of new infections has been rising steadily from 124, 000 in 2009 to 128,000 in 2010 and is now at 130,000 as of 2011 according to the UAIS. In fact, the rising number of new infections outstrips the annual enrollment into Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) by two-fold.

“If this status quo continues, the HIV burden in the country is projected to increase by 700,000 new infections over the next five years, including an estimated 25,000 babies born with the infection each year,” reads the UIAS.

What should we do?

In a bid to foster Uganda’s achievement of MDG 6 of combating the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) in its 2011-2015 National Prevention Strategy recommends five key things.

Raising an HIV free generation:

The first call in the strategy is an appeal to men and women who wish to raise a family to birth an HIV free baby.

“Every pregnant mother should seek antenatal care as early as after missing two menstrual periods and take an HIV test,” Prof Vinand Nantulya, the UAC chairman advises,

“A mother that tests positive can then be placed on treatment following guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health,” he adds.

This treatment aims at caring for the mother’s health and protection of the baby. It is also in the interest of protecting the baby’s future that its father should be tested.

Keeping the young generation free of HIV:

The second call in the strategy is to the youth in and out of school to reject risky behaviours, protect their peers from infection and supporting those in need of treatment, care and social support.

The strategy also calls upon health providers to offer youth friendly services so that  youths can access interventions like HIV counselling and testing, information on safe sexual behaviours, safe male circumcision, condom supplies, treatment, care and support for those infected and affected.

“Parents should guide and protect their children against pressures to engage in sexual behaviours and practises that expose them to HIV,” Prof Nantulya urges.

He adds that parents should also spend quality time with their children and enable them to stay in school and complete their education.

Protection for the adults:

Prof Nantulya says a high proportion of sexually active Ugandans have become complacent about risk-taking sex lifestyles such as engaging in sexual encounters with partners whose sero-status they do not know. Indeed, about 90% of new infections are occurring in such adults.

The starting point is for every adult to go for an HIV test in order to know their sero-status.

“If you are negative, the Prevention Strategy provides interventions such as safe sex behaviour, access to free and safe male circumcision and condom use,” he says,

“But the message on circumcision must be very clear: it is not 100% protective and certainly not a licence to be reckless.”

For those who test positive, interventions such as access to treatment care and support and condom use are available to help one avoid acquiring drug resistant strains of the virus.

Leadership for HIV:

In the campaign perspective, leadership is broadly defined to include all leaders ranging from individuals, households, communities and institutions to national political and technical cadres. The forth call is for these to deliver constructive and non contradictory messages.

Cultural norms and practises that expose individuals to HIV like wife sharing, widow inheritance, polygamy and early marriages among others must all be addressed.

The public must also be protected from confusing and misleading information especially that prevalent on billboards and gutter-press.

Resourcing the campaign against the epidemic:

The final call in the strategy is for Government to ensure that interventions by all the sectors are well resourced for effective implementation of the HIV/AIDS campaign as current allocations are far below what is required to contain the epidemic.

“It is also essential that the public and public sectors, civil societies and development partners are accountable for and innovative enough to do more with the limited resources,” Prof Nantulya says.

Nevertheless, he stresses the fact that responsibility to ensure that resources are used for their intended purpose starts with one as an individual.

ninsiima@observer.ug

Mentoring girls for a better tomorrow

RACHEAL NINSIIMA

Aristotle once remarked that “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” This perhaps epitomizes Owek Hajat Rehmah Kasule’s dreams. She is on a crusade to mentor girls so they become great leaders and change agents in society.

“I know and believe that one of you young ladies seated in this room will become the next president of Uganda,” she said attracting a deafening applause.

Kasule is the brainchild of the Rising Stars Mentoring Programme that seeks to create a new generation of economically independent and socially responsible women leaders to enable girls take charge of their destiny.

Last Thursday, she attended a graduation ceremony of over 175 girls from seven girls’ schools - Mbogo, Nabisunsa, St. Mary’s Aboke, Bweranyangi, Tororo Girls, Trinity College Nabbingo and Gayaza High School who sat listening to her attentively. 

The ceremony that was held at Namugongo Vocational Secondary School, followed a holiday camp that took place on December 9-13 at the school.

Victoria Sekitoleko, head of the Speakers Forum and chief guest at the ceremony encouraged the graduands to be ready to answer questions on family planning, women’s rights and sexuality that are bound to come their way.

“When you get out there, you will be confronted with questions like whether one is allowed to sleep with a married man or questions that would test your knowledge on family planning. Unfortunately, these are stories people never tell,” Sekitoleko said.

“As iron sharpens iron and diamond sharpens diamond, you too must be ready to sharpen your communities and Uganda with the skills and knowledge you have attained here.”

She also encouraged those undertaking entrepreneurial projects like hair dressing and baking to pursue them beyond the programme and make them employment avenues.

The graduation ceremony was coloured with poetry and music performances from the graduands.

“Take one step at a time, there’s no need to rush……” echoed Jordin Spark’s hit song throughout the hall as eight girls took to the stage. The essence of the song, which they refer to as ‘maama’s best’ urges them to always remain focused and keep moving if they are to succeed in life.

Then came the public speaking presentations on education, domestic violence and cultural identity that moved people to tears and got some off their chairs – the students had incredible renditions.

Birth of Rising Stars

On May 31 2011, with funding from the US government, CEDA International, a leadership, mentoring and entrepreneurship organization launched the Rising Stars Mentoring Program. It grooms a new generation of social, political and economic leaders to bridge the leadership and employment gap in the country.  Operating under the philosophy that “mentoring is like a candle, one can light up so many candles without losing its glow but creates more light and better heat,” the programme has been embraced by the seven schools.

Under the programme’s entrepreneurship project, the stars formulate project which they will pursue during the holidays and beyond.  

“One thing I know for sure is that your background does not shape your destiny, you have the power to design your future. Go in the direction of your dreams and mentor as many other girls as possible,” Kasule told the attentive crowd.

ninsiima@observer.ug