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