RDC wants mothers sensitised on HIV
May 12, 2010
THE Apac resident district commissioner has appealed to the Uganda Red Cross Society to educate the public on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/ AIDS.
By Bill Oketch
THE Apac resident district commissioner has appealed to the Uganda Red Cross Society to educate the public on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/ AIDS.
Alex Jurua made the remarks during celebrations to mark 151 years of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies on Saturday.
He said a survey done by the district health department revealed that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection was still worrying.
Jurua said findings from Aboke, Akokoro, Aduku and Apac health centres last month indicated that 60% of young mothers, who go for antenatal care, are HIV-positive.
Mother-to-child transmission is when an HIV infected mother passes on the virus to her baby. This can occur during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding.
In 2008, around 430,000 children under 15 years of age became infected with HIV, mainly through mother-to-child transmission. About 90% of these infections occurred in Africa, where AIDS is beginning to reverse decades of steady progress in child survival, according to AVERT, an international AIDS charity.
The Apac Red Cross branch coordinator, George Hannington Orochi, said they had planted 1,500 tree seedlings, constructed 20 drying racks and 20 rubbish pits in households of vulnerable persons in Apac and Oyam districts to boost their incomes.
THE Apac resident district commissioner has appealed to the Uganda Red Cross Society to educate the public on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/ AIDS.
Alex Jurua made the remarks during celebrations to mark 151 years of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies on Saturday.
He said a survey done by the district health department revealed that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection was still worrying.
Jurua said findings from Aboke, Akokoro, Aduku and Apac health centres last month indicated that 60% of young mothers, who go for antenatal care, are HIV-positive.
Mother-to-child transmission is when an HIV infected mother passes on the virus to her baby. This can occur during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding.
In 2008, around 430,000 children under 15 years of age became infected with HIV, mainly through mother-to-child transmission. About 90% of these infections occurred in Africa, where AIDS is beginning to reverse decades of steady progress in child survival, according to AVERT, an international AIDS charity.
The Apac Red Cross branch coordinator, George Hannington Orochi, said they had planted 1,500 tree seedlings, constructed 20 drying racks and 20 rubbish pits in households of vulnerable persons in Apac and Oyam districts to boost their incomes.