Martin Kiiza
17 May 2002
GULU has been ranked among the districts most hit by the dreaded HIV/AIDS.
This has been attributed to the insurgency which has been going on in the region for about 16 years.
The director district Health Services, Dr. A.K. Onek, said medical statistics show that about 70 percent of reported cases in hospitals are HIV/AIDS related cases.
He said tuberculosis (TB) and malaria took the lead.
He was speaking at the end of a four-day sensitisation workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention and care organised by the National Guidance and Empowerment Network of people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (NGEN).
The workshop, held at Gulu District Farm Institute (DFI) recently, drew participants from the 24 sub-counties of the district.
The sub-counties included Purongo, Pabbo, Atyak, Palaro, Lamogi, Aswa, Alero, Laibi and Laro.
Onek said insurgency in the north had greatly contributed to the prevailing poverty in the district.
"People do not go to work on their farms due to insecurity and this has made most of our people poor leading to promiscuity hence vulnerability to HIV/AIDS," he said.
The national coordinator NGEN, Major Rubaramira Ruranga, said his organisation's goal was to enhance the capacity of people living with HIV/AIDS in all districts of Uganda to participate in HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
He said NGEN was launched in 1996 and was intended to establish district networks all over the country.
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