Time to revisit Museveni HIV/AIDS approach

By Moses Balyeku

OH March 17, the New Vision ran a story headlined ‘HIV Rate Rises’. The article was in reference to Uganda AIDS Indicator 2011which the Minister of Health, Dr. Christine Ondoa launched.

The new survey reveals that the percentage of people living with HIV in the country had risen from 6.4% to 6.7%. It further indicates that the infection rate is higher among women standing at 7.7% while for men; it is 5.6% bringing the national average rate to 6.7% of adults.

The new alarming figures definitely mean that as a country, we have relented in the HIV/AIDS fight. We need to revisit the strategies which were used in the mid-1980s and early 1990s that led to a sharp decline in the prevalence rates.

It should be recalled that President Museveni and his wife, Janet were at the forefront in sensitising the public on the dangers of this disease.

A case in point is the President’s emphasis on abstinence among school going children. He would address them with two bottles of soda to illustrate his teachings. One bottle would be full of soda with its bottle top cover intact while the other would be half empty with no bottle top.

On demonstrating the two soda bottles to the children, the President would ask a child to pick any of the two bottles he or she would prefer to take. All the children pointed at the sealed bottle which was full of soda ignoring the opened one which they were not sure whether it wasn’t contaminated.

In that analogy, the President’s message to the children was that abstinence was the best way for them as they concentrate on their studies.

The second analogy the President used was in comparison to a snake that lives in a hole. He locally referred to the hole as mpompogoma.

To him, AIDS is like a poisonous snake that lives in a hole. He advised that the moment you carelessly insert your hand or finger into that hole, you would be luring the poisonous snake to bite. He thus counselled the public to desist from trying these mpompogoma or least snakes bite them.

With this analogy many people realised the option of protective sex especially the use of a condom.

The writer is MP Jinja West and NRM Chairperson Jinja District