Francis Kagolo
1 October 2008
Kampala — THE Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, has advised the Government and charity organisations to focus on behaviour change in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
"We are not yet able to adequately care for all people living with HIV/AIDS and provide them with anti-retroviral therapy. It is better for us to step up HIV prevention strategies," he said.
Ssekandi was recently speaking at the 17th annual general meeting of The Aids Support Organisation (TASO).
The meeting, held at the Uganda Manufacturers' Association main show ground at Lugogo in Kampala, attracted over 1,000 members.
Last year, over 312,000 people needed anti-retroviral therapy yet the nation could provide drugs for only 120,000 people, Ssekandi said.
"The national figures of the infected people are worrying. We should rejuvenate and sustain our efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS."
Ssekandi said about 25,000 children are born with the virus every year and over 135,000 Ugandans acquired the deadly virus last year.
He also expressed concern over the infection rate which has stayed high for a number of years. The national HIV prevalence rate stands at 6.4%.
The 2004-2005 National Sero-Behavioural Survey indicated that people aged between 30 and 40 years were the most infected.
"This could lead to less productivity for the country because this is the the most productive age. It could also mean having many orphans and high poverty levels," Ssekandi said. To light the torch for reviving the battle against AIDS, Ssekandi said Parliament had directed all MPs to advocate HIV prevention, care and treatment in their constituencies.
Parliament also launched the HIV/AIDS policy, which aims at providing peer counselling and drugs to MPs and staff who are living with HIV.
Ssekandi also urged the Government to implement the 2001 Abuja Declaration of African States and increase funding for the health ministry to at least 15% of the national budget.
Since its inception in 1987, TASO has provided care to over 200,000 HIV patients and currently, 23,000 Ugandans depend on it for ARVs, said Robert Ochai, the executive director.
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