Jan Ajwang & Grace Natabalo
10 June 2007
Kampala — As efforts to curb HIV/Aids prevalence in Uganda continue, a minister has called for increasing female controlled preventive measures. Ms Rukia Nakadama, the Minister of State for Gender said that more women were getting infected by HIV than their male counterparts. She said this calls for methods that can safeguard women's health.
"New and long-term prevention methods are needed, particularly methods that are within the realm of women's control," Ms Nakadama said on Friday.
She was addressing delegates at the opening of the Commonwealth Partners Forum conference on gender and new preventive technologies at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala. The conference was premised on the theme: "Investing in Gender Equity: Ensuring the Development of and Access to New Prevention Technologies". The conference was a build up to the Eighth Women Affairs Ministers Meeting scheduled for June 11-14.
Downplaying the use of the male condom, Ms Nakadama said the contraceptive does not empower women sexually because they do not have control over its usage.
"They [women] have no control over the condom and instead have to depend on the man to protect themselves, making them more vulnerable to HIV/Aids," Ms Nakadama said.
She said this was a major cause of increasing HIV infections among married couples because the women cannot do anything to prevent it. She instead encouraged the use of New Preventive Technologies (NPTs) that favour women to protect themselves without having to depend on their male partners.
Nakadama cited methods such as cervical barriers, microbicides and vaccines as those that can empower women. Dr Florence Mirembe, a gynaecologist from Makerere University's Medical School, told the delegates that microbicides are substances that can be applied topically before sexual intercourse to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections. She said the microbicides include gels, creams, suppositories, foams, sponges and vaginal rings.
"Microbicides have potential to prevent HIV infection in both men and women by creating a mechanical barrier, prevention of multiplication, directly killing the virus and bringing about an immune reaction," Dr Mirembe said.
Microbicides are one of the new technologies towards HIV prevention but are still under research.
She said the microbicides are women controlled, easier to use than female condoms and do not always require cooperation of one's partner. Ms Nakadama said there is need to highlight NPTs as important health tools for women and girls as HIV is taking a disproportionate toll on them.
The female condom was introduced a few years ago to control HIV infection but it has failed to become popular among women. "Some women said it looked like a sack and others said it was giving them difficulty during sexual intercourse. Maybe they need a different shape that is pleasing," Dr Kihumuro Apuuli, Director of the Uganda Aids Commission, said.
In a draft communiqué from the meeting expected to be fed into the Eighth Women Affairs Ministers Meeting agenda, the panel of doctors called for the government to channel more resources to finance the NPTs.
Presenting the communiqué, Dr Grace Bantebya, the chairperson of the Uganda Women Network, said "the key message is that government must invest more in new technologies and increase funding in the already existing ones to have an effective strategy against HIV/Aids."
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