How can we stop HIV spread in Uganda?

Jun 21, 2009

<b>FACE HIV WITH Dr. Watiti</b><br><br>Dear doctor, <br><br>It is now over 25 years since HIV/AIDS cases were first seen in Uganda and we have been working hard to stop the disease to no avail.

FACE HIV WITH Dr. Watiti

Dear doctor,

It is now over 25 years since HIV/AIDS cases were first seen in Uganda and we have been working hard to stop the disease to no avail. The prevalence which was very high (up to 30%) in the 1980s was brought down to the current 6.5% but has stagnated. What should we do as a country to eradicate this disease the same way we have done to polio?
- Catherine

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Dear Catherine,
Many of us are grappling with the same question. As the situation stands now, we are fighting a losing battle. In 2003, UNAIDS and WHO came up with a plan of putting three million people on ARVs worldwide by 2005, hence the slogan, “3 by 5”. To date, only three million people have been put on ARVs.

We need to understand the epidemic and what is driving it instead of assuming that what worked in different countries, especially in Europe and America, will work here. HIV was first detected among men who had sex with men (MSM) and intravenous drug users (IDUs) in San Francisco, US. Due to discrimination, these groups of people denied they were gay, IDUs or had HIV/AIDS, thus the genesis of HIV/AIDS- related stigma.

In Africa, the HIV epidemic is driven by different practices like people having multiple sexual partners, inequalities between men and women, domestic and sexual violence against women and poverty. We inherited the HIV/AIDS related stigma and propagated it. Due to this, HIV has become a moral disease and we are now working towards criminalising its transmission.

If we are to overcome this disease, we need to normalise and treat it like other serious but incurable diseases such as diabetes or cancer.

People need routine HIV testing and depending on the results, should be counselled either to go for treatment if they are infected or on how to remain HIV-free if they are negative.

By using prevention strategies to address the drivers of our epidemic, we shall continue to reduce its incidence since we do not have a vaccine yet against it the way we do for polio or measles.

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