COVID-19: UNAIDS uplifts businesses of young positives

HIV/AIDS | BUSINESS

Following the impacts of COVID-19, which left many young people living with HIV/AIDS, with no hope for life, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has embarked on a campaign of restoring hope among them.

The organization is giving capital grants to the young people living with HIV/AIDS to revamp their business to sustain drug adherence within Kampala metropolitan.

According to Sarah Nakku, the Community Mobilisation and Networking Advisor at UNAIDS, the survey conducted at the beginning of COVID-19 indicated that many young people living with HIV/AIDS are involved in casual labor with no permanent jobs.

The survey, she said was done among people living with HIV/AIDS and comprised of people staying beyond Kampala from 21 districts.

"Out of the 633 respondents, 62% of those had casual jobs yet as an organization, we do believe that a stable income supports adherence to treatment," says Nakku

It is from that angle that we decided to partner with young positives to support the young people living with HIV/AIDS who mainly lost their businesses within Kampala metropolitan so that they can be revamped," she added.

Nakku observed that the infection rate among the young people is mainly high among women and girls.

Speaking during the launch of the project dubbed ‘Giving Hope and also handle over of the capital grants to the beneficiaries' recently, Nakku stated that UNAIDs has invested about sh22m to revamp the businesses of about 150 young people leaving with HIV/AIDS.

"We are not looking at starters but at revamping the existing businesses so that it can enhance support and adherence to drugs," she said  

The Executive Director of Uganda Young Positives, Kuraish Mubiru, observed that the young people living with HIV/AIDS in the informal sector have been challenged with the negative effects of COVID-19 which doubled stigma and discrimination.

"COVID-19 came with a lot of fabrications in a sense that so many people got different information about it especially among the community of young people leaving with HIV.

This doubled and tripled the stigma and discrimination that were already existing in society to the extent that some believed that the moment COVID-19 got a chance to penetrate into our bodies, chances of survival were at 0.0%," he said.

He said that majority of the small businesses that they were involved in especially from the informal sector were all shut down.

He observed that when the President announced a total lockdown, he did not spare the young people living with HIV from the informal sector which made them use all the capital they had invested.

"With those challenges, we couldn't even afford moving to the health facilities to get daily treatment which affected drug adherence.

Our appeal to the government is to ensure that young people leaving with HIV receive direct focus from the government, "he said.

He observed that over the years, there has been limited focus on young people living with HIV in the informal sector with no direct program from the Ministry of Health.

"Our appeal to government is to incorporate us in the strategic plan for HIV/Aids with a special focus on adolescents and young people, "he appealed.

He congratulated UNAIDs for supporting the young people living with AIDS saying this will promote drug adherence which many had deviated from.

Caroline Nakitto, a beneficiary from Wakiso, said, when COVID-19 strike, she had just delivered but due to her status, her husband ran away and she had to sell off her saloon equipment in order to survive.

She applauded the UNAIDs for support, saying hope for life has been restored.

Mariam Nakato another beneficiary from Kawempe, Tulla said she used to make and sell baskets in order to sustain the family but could hardly sell even one basket during the lockdown which brought about poor adherence to drugs.

Deo Senkungu from Gayaza, said he was involved in a hotel business but during the lockdown, he just woke up one time and found the building smashed which traumatized him.