USAID helping children win battle against AIDS

More children and adolescents living with HIV and AIDs, in twenty-five districts of South Western and Central Uganda are virally suppressed.

When a person's viral load is less than 200 copies per milliliter of blood, they are considered virally suppressed. If a person with HIV has an undetectable viral load, it means that there is less HIV in their body.

Out of 10,666 viral loads collected from health facilities for the period of six months and 1 year, at least 9802 were virally suppressed.

Speaking during a press conference at their offices in Munyonyo on Monday , Christine Oryema Lalobo the Chief of Party USAID’s Keeping Children Healthy and Safe (KCHS) Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) revealed that their organization was awarded $20m grant (approximately sh74b) in 2020 to implement a 5-year project which focuses on children and adolescents between 0-17 years.

Christine Oryema, Chief of Party, USAIDI’s Keeping Children Health and Safe (KCHS) Activity (second right) speaking during a press briefing to highlight the positive impact of the activity held at TPO offices in Munyonyo on Monday, April 24, 2023 as Michael Byamukama, Country Director, Repssi Uganda (left), Patrick Sambaga, Country Director, Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Uganda (second left) and Rev Fr Emmanuel Katabazi, Coordinator, Masaka Diocesan Medical Services (right) look on.

The project titled, USAID’s Keeping Children Healthy and Safe activity, aimed to reduce new HIV infection and Vulnerability among Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) adolescents and young women in South Western and Central Uganda.

Lalobo explained that ‘’when a child is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS we take the community component and household component of the work meanwhile the clinical partner is doing the clinical component of the work,’’ 

TPO works in partnership with health facilities, local governments and other partners including ACCORD, REPSSI, Masaka Diocesan Medical services, TASO and Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau among others.

Lalobo added that they work with the clinical partners in order to identify the targeted groups and those whose families migrate they follow them up.

She said they are working towards achieving UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, which calls for 95% of people living with HIV to know their HIV status; 95% of people who know their HIV status are receiving antiretroviral therapy; and 95% of people on treatment have a suppressed viral load.

Patrick Sambaga, Country Director, Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Uganda (right) hands over a Range Rover car to Rev Fr Emmanuel Katabazi, Coordinator, Masaka Diocesan Medical Services during a press briefing to highlight the positive impact of the activity held at TPO offices in Munyonyo on Monday, April 24, 2023 as Christine Oryema, Chief of Party, USAIDI’s Keeping Children Health and Safe (KCHS) Activity (centre) looks on.

Lalobo explained that for 1 year they had a target of reaching 60,660 children and adolescents and were able to achieve 99% of that target.

While in year two they reached at least 60, 658 and we were able to achieve 94%, this year, where they are targeting 110,215 children and adolescents.

Kalangala district

Whereas other districts are registering success in viral load suppression, Kalangala district was registering more children who are not virally suppressing.

Father Emmanuel Katabaazi the coordinator Masaka Diocesan Medical Services called for a need to intensify campaigns to ensure that they are virally suppressed, since the main objective of the program is to ensure that the children and other beneficiaries are virally suppressed.

‘’When we compare with other areas, the suppression rates are lower in Kalangala and we think it is linked with challenges of transport and geographical accessibility,’’ he said 

Kalangala district has over 84 islands and of those seven islands have health facilities.

The Country Director TPO Uganda Patrick Sambaga said they have achieved in many areas amidst many challenges including COVID-19.

He highlighted that they were still able to deliver services even beyond their expectations at the peak of the pandemic by innovatively working around to make sure that people did not miss out core services under this project.  They made sure that the beneficiaries got their refills of ARVs during COVID-19 pandemic.

Christine Oryema, Chief of Party, USAIDI’s Keeping Children Health and Safe (KCHS) Activity speaking during a press briefing to highlight the positive impact of the activity held at TPO offices in Munyonyo on Monday, April 24, 2023.

Statics

According to annual Joint Aids Review Report of Financial Year 2021/2022 issued by Uganda Aids Commission, the HIV burden has been on a gradual decline since the 1990s, when it was estimated at 18%, to 5.5% in 2020 (UPHIA 2020) and according to the Uganda 2022 HIV Epi-data estimates, this has reduced further to 5.2% among the adult population 15-49 years (MoH, 2022).

‘’Both new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths declined during the decade (2010-2021), but the magnitude of new HIV infections is still very high,’’

Patrick Sambaga, Country Director, Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Uganda speaking during a press briefing to highlight the positive impact of the activity held at TPO offices in Munyonyo on Monday, April 24, 2023

Ugandan epi-data estimates for 2022 show that although new HIV infections have declined by 39% since 2010, 54,000 new infections were registered in 2021. AIDS-related deaths were estimated at 17,000 in 2021 (down 67% from 51,000 in 2010).

On the other hand, the project also focuses on Economic empowerment, Case management, and works together with clinical partners.