Clean water essential for people living with AIDS
Apr 20, 2008
LACK of clean water increases the risk of diarrhoea among people living with HIV/AIDS, the executive director of the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network, John Byarugaba, has said.
By Aidah Nanyonjo
LACK of clean water increases the risk of diarrhoea among people living with HIV/AIDS, the executive director of the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network, John Byarugaba, has said.
The immuno-compromised status of people living with HIV/AIDS renders them more susceptible to opportunistic infections, including those related to water and sanitation,†he explained.
This situation calls for the integration of sanitation issues into AIDS programmes. The scope should include aspects of risks and benefits associated with hygiene, hand washing, faecal management, safe water and waste disposal.
He was speaking during a workshop on HIV/AIDS and Sanitation at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala, recently.
Byarugaba said ensuring proper sanitation keeps people with HIV stronger and well-nourished, which enables them to look after their households.
He said opportunistic infections negatively impact on the quality of life and can speed up the progression of HIV.
“Opportunistic infections cause a significant loss of man hour, income, suffering and death,†Byarugaba noted.
Paul Luyima, the assistant commissioner in charge of environmental health at the Ministry of Health, said over 400 people die of diarrhoea-related diseases every day in Uganda.
“Access to safe water is a basic human need as well as a right for all. Unfortunately, this has not been realised in most developing countries,†Luyima said.
The burden, he said, was not only on HIV-infected people, but also their families, leading to low productivity.
According to the Water and Sanitation Programme report 2007, households with HIV- infected persons require more than 20 litres of water a day.
LACK of clean water increases the risk of diarrhoea among people living with HIV/AIDS, the executive director of the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network, John Byarugaba, has said.
The immuno-compromised status of people living with HIV/AIDS renders them more susceptible to opportunistic infections, including those related to water and sanitation,†he explained.
This situation calls for the integration of sanitation issues into AIDS programmes. The scope should include aspects of risks and benefits associated with hygiene, hand washing, faecal management, safe water and waste disposal.
He was speaking during a workshop on HIV/AIDS and Sanitation at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala, recently.
Byarugaba said ensuring proper sanitation keeps people with HIV stronger and well-nourished, which enables them to look after their households.
He said opportunistic infections negatively impact on the quality of life and can speed up the progression of HIV.
“Opportunistic infections cause a significant loss of man hour, income, suffering and death,†Byarugaba noted.
Paul Luyima, the assistant commissioner in charge of environmental health at the Ministry of Health, said over 400 people die of diarrhoea-related diseases every day in Uganda.
“Access to safe water is a basic human need as well as a right for all. Unfortunately, this has not been realised in most developing countries,†Luyima said.
The burden, he said, was not only on HIV-infected people, but also their families, leading to low productivity.
According to the Water and Sanitation Programme report 2007, households with HIV- infected persons require more than 20 litres of water a day.