HIV/AIDS not a death sentence

The titular head of Muslims in Uganda, Al-Hajji Prince Kassim Nakibinge, has advised people living with HIV/AIDS never to lose hope but to adhere to doctors' instructions, saying this will help them live a meaningful life.

‘Please do not despair, it is not only HIV/AIDS that cause people to die, there are so many other avenues. Having Aids is not a death sentence , we should all wake up and see how best we should stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country,' Prince Nakibinge made the remarks during the celebrations of World Aids day at Baylor Uganda centre of excellence Mulago.

Nakibinge urged the public to test for HIV/AIDS and know their status and those found with the virus be started on treatment.

In 2016, an estimated 4,600 children contracted HIV, a significant drop from 26,000 new infections in 2014, preliminary findings of the Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment reveal.

Overall, the number of Ugandans who got infected with HIV dropped sharply to 52,000 in 2016, up from 99,000 in 2014, according to the survey.
The partial findings of the survey released in August indicated that prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 and 49 years in Uganda dropped to 6%, up from 7.3% in 2014.

The executive director of Baylor Uganda Dr Adeodata Kekitiinwa said that there is a need to put more focus on Boda-Boda riders and Taxi drivers in HIV/AIDS fight.

‘One of the key emerging groups that we are now seeing are the boda-boda riders and Taxi drivers, these people have money every day so they entice girls. We are working with their associations to mobilize them for prevention services, care and treatment,' Kekitiinwa said.

She said currently Baylor has about 8,000 clients, majority of whom are adolescents and youth (78%). Over 80% got infected through mother to child transmission. ‘When we started, over 70% were children and to date only 22% are children,' she added.

Kekitiinwa said , with changing government policy, Baylor manages both children and adults adding that they support the Rwenzori region and Karamoja region with close to 90,000 clients benefiting from services which range from prevention, care and treatment.

Baylor also hosts the National paediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS call centre. Launched by president Museveni the call centre is open from 8.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday. It has supported health workers who call in for guidance on how to manage some cases.

‘We receive on average 100 calls a day, from all over the country. Most of the calls are about HIV and TB management, especially guidelines on reaction to medication and referrals,' she noted