New Vision (Kampala)

Uganda: 15,000 Volunteers Receive HIV/Aids Training

By Ayiga Ondoga, 4 June 2008

Kampala — OVER 15,000 volunteers have been trained to sensitise the masses about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, reports Ayiga Ondoga.

The initiative undertaken by the Uganda Youth Empowerment Alliance is a five-year project being implemented in 10 districts countrywide. It is funded by the US government to the tune of $1m (sh1.6b). The districts are Kampala, Wakiso, Kayunga, Pallisa, Tororo, Budaka, Lira, Hoima, Kabale and Kamuli.

The co-coordinator, Michael Demba, said the programme was initiated by five charities; the Uganda Red Cross Society, Uganda Scouts Association, Source of the Nile Award, Uganda Girl Guides Association and Uganda Young Women's Association.

"We shall empower the youth on behavioural change, especially abstinence as the main solution in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS," Demba noted.

He added that the volunteers' approach is by peer education and they had sensitised 220,000 young people out of the targeted 300,000. The programme also tackles parent-to-child communication on AIDS.

  • Comment (1)

Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Comments Post a comment

  • Boniface
    Jun 5 2008, 13:57
    Report Abuse

    Kudos to these young volunteers! As long as they instruct on A and B and stay away from the C, they will be doing the Ugandan people a service. A paper with an extensive bibliography notes the dangers of the use of the C: http://www.hli.org/condom_expose_complete.html