Twelve get Vision's HIV/AIDS awards
May 31, 2010
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the return to the HIV/AIDS prevention messages of abstinence, faithfulness and condom use in order to arrest the rising HIV infections.
By Anne Mugisa
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the return to the HIV/AIDS prevention messages of abstinence, faithfulness and condom use in order to arrest the rising HIV infections.
He said students should be told to abstain from sex rather than being told to use condoms.
“The condom was the third choice, in a reserved position in case you could not abstain or be faithful,†he said.
He urged stakeholders to have consistent, unambiguous messages for the young people.
The President’s call comes amidst concerns that the HIV infections are raising again after the prevalence had been brought down from a national average of 18% in the 1980s to between 6% and 7% today.
Doctors yesterday said the increase in HIV infections is outpacing the available resources. They also warned that donors were scaling down on anti-retroviral drugs.
This was at a function at Parliament where the President handed over awards to 12 people recognised for fighting against HIV/AIDS in their communities.
They were Daphne Nayebare, a student of Continental College Busega, Nuru Nabumba Kisitu, Ian Kagimbo and Moses Okwonga, who individually carry out abstinence campaigns.
Winners also included others who campaign for positive living and prevention, namely, Dr. Stephen Watiti, Evelyn Mirembe and Prima Ndeka.
The third category was recognised for leadership in the campaign against HIV/AIDS and they are Ibrahim Sebere, Grace Loumo, Pastor Martin Ssempa, James Okodi and Faustine Ngarambe.
The ceremony was organised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS.
New Vision funded and implemented the nominations, selection, writing and publishing of the profiles in The New Vision at about sh700m.
The idea was conceptualised by an HIV/AIDS fellow, Apophia Agiresaasi, who was attached to Parliament, and the parliamentary committee supported the process. The USAID Linkages project funded the parliamentary committee.
The Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, said Uganda needs sh8trillion to treat all those who need ARVs for 10 years.
Museveni said the success of the 1990s campaign, which saw a marked reduction in the HIV spread, was because fear was instilled in the population on the dangers of the disease. He noted that when the prevalence was brought down, condom use per capital was at its lowest.
He said he was concerned during one of the Prosperity-For-All campaign tours in Katikamu, when a secondary school student told him that one catches HIV if they have sex without a condom.
“I asked this child, did your parents send you here to have sex with condoms and she said no.
“What this girl told me showed that they think that at their age, sex with a condom is okay. But they should be told that the condom must be a last resort and that there are other sexually transmitted infections which the condom cannot stop, like the Human Papilloma Virus, responsible for cervical cancer.â€
He said there are also pubic lice which are hard to get rid of.
The President also appealed to people not to think that availability of anti-retrovirals is a surety against HIV and carelessly engage in risky sexual behaviour.
Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga, a retired army officer, who said he has been on ARVs for a long time, explained that the ARVs have contra effects in the body and, therefore, people should not let their guard down hoping for an ARV fix.
He also said heightened infections mean that there will be more people in need of ARVs, which may also affect the rations of those already on the life-saving drugs.
Several of the parliamentarians who tested for HIV publicly declared their serostatus. Beatrice Atim Anywar, Dr Sam Lyomoki, Teopista Ssentongo, Masiko Kabakumba, Felix Okwonga, and Grace Tibwita returned a negative result. Two staff, Lillian Najjuma and Teddy Lowume, were also negative.
Dr. Mike Strong, the PEPFAR Co-ordinator in Uganda, said the infection rates of 110,000 people every year was too high. He said the demand for treatment is greater than the resources and that donors cannot be the sole provider.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the return to the HIV/AIDS prevention messages of abstinence, faithfulness and condom use in order to arrest the rising HIV infections.
He said students should be told to abstain from sex rather than being told to use condoms.
“The condom was the third choice, in a reserved position in case you could not abstain or be faithful,†he said.
He urged stakeholders to have consistent, unambiguous messages for the young people.
The President’s call comes amidst concerns that the HIV infections are raising again after the prevalence had been brought down from a national average of 18% in the 1980s to between 6% and 7% today.
Doctors yesterday said the increase in HIV infections is outpacing the available resources. They also warned that donors were scaling down on anti-retroviral drugs.
This was at a function at Parliament where the President handed over awards to 12 people recognised for fighting against HIV/AIDS in their communities.
They were Daphne Nayebare, a student of Continental College Busega, Nuru Nabumba Kisitu, Ian Kagimbo and Moses Okwonga, who individually carry out abstinence campaigns.
Winners also included others who campaign for positive living and prevention, namely, Dr. Stephen Watiti, Evelyn Mirembe and Prima Ndeka.
The third category was recognised for leadership in the campaign against HIV/AIDS and they are Ibrahim Sebere, Grace Loumo, Pastor Martin Ssempa, James Okodi and Faustine Ngarambe.
The ceremony was organised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS.
New Vision funded and implemented the nominations, selection, writing and publishing of the profiles in The New Vision at about sh700m.
The idea was conceptualised by an HIV/AIDS fellow, Apophia Agiresaasi, who was attached to Parliament, and the parliamentary committee supported the process. The USAID Linkages project funded the parliamentary committee.
The Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, said Uganda needs sh8trillion to treat all those who need ARVs for 10 years.
Museveni said the success of the 1990s campaign, which saw a marked reduction in the HIV spread, was because fear was instilled in the population on the dangers of the disease. He noted that when the prevalence was brought down, condom use per capital was at its lowest.
He said he was concerned during one of the Prosperity-For-All campaign tours in Katikamu, when a secondary school student told him that one catches HIV if they have sex without a condom.
“I asked this child, did your parents send you here to have sex with condoms and she said no.
“What this girl told me showed that they think that at their age, sex with a condom is okay. But they should be told that the condom must be a last resort and that there are other sexually transmitted infections which the condom cannot stop, like the Human Papilloma Virus, responsible for cervical cancer.â€
He said there are also pubic lice which are hard to get rid of.
The President also appealed to people not to think that availability of anti-retrovirals is a surety against HIV and carelessly engage in risky sexual behaviour.
Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga, a retired army officer, who said he has been on ARVs for a long time, explained that the ARVs have contra effects in the body and, therefore, people should not let their guard down hoping for an ARV fix.
He also said heightened infections mean that there will be more people in need of ARVs, which may also affect the rations of those already on the life-saving drugs.
Several of the parliamentarians who tested for HIV publicly declared their serostatus. Beatrice Atim Anywar, Dr Sam Lyomoki, Teopista Ssentongo, Masiko Kabakumba, Felix Okwonga, and Grace Tibwita returned a negative result. Two staff, Lillian Najjuma and Teddy Lowume, were also negative.
Dr. Mike Strong, the PEPFAR Co-ordinator in Uganda, said the infection rates of 110,000 people every year was too high. He said the demand for treatment is greater than the resources and that donors cannot be the sole provider.