Nairobi — Having spent billions of shillings over the years on programmes for the care and treatment of adult HIV/Aids patients, Uganda has become the first country in the East African region to set up a clinic dedicated to the care of children living with the disease.

The state of the art Paediatric HIV/Aids Clinical Centre of Excellence launched in Kampala is the fourth such facility in Africa. Botswana, Lesotho and Malawi have similar facilities.

The centre, sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine of the US and inaugurated by President Yoweri Museveni, will be able to treat up to 20,000 children.

Baylor International Paediatric Aids Initiative executive director Dr Addy Kekitiinwa said the most modern equipment has been acquired at the centre, including a CD 4 count machine, which was previously hired for $17 per check.

The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation through Baylor, is to provide free HIV/Aids treatment to children across East Africa.

Children born of HIV-positive mothers, whose HIV status is not known or those that are HIV positive but still breastfeeding and are hence exposed are the main target of the centre, which will treat adolescents too.

Paediatric HIV/Aids care and treatment training will also be offered to health workers at the facility.

"There is still inadequate access to paediatric HIV/Aids care and treatment services in Uganda," said Dr Kekitiinwa.

He added that out of the 330 active anti-retroviral therapy centres in Uganda, only 110 sites are able to provide paediatric HIV care services and most are located in urban centres.

The clinic occupies 1,500 square metres and has 13 doctors' rooms, two training halls, 10 counselling rooms, two training halls, a boardroom, a resource centre and administrative offices. The centre will operate on an outpatient basis only.

"Congestion at the old Mulago Clinic's Ward 15, led to the construction of the new centre. It has been providing different care services to over 4,000 children including 2,400 taking antiretroviral drugs. The daily clinic patient load is 180, which is too much for a clinic with only four clinic rooms, three counselling rooms and a small pharmacy," said Vincent Bagambe, Baylor publicity secretary.

Baylor-Uganda, started in 2003 as a paediatric infectious diseases clinic, a service department of paediatrics and child health in Mulago hospital.

The new clinic is to provide a comprehensive package of paediatric and family HIV care and treatment services including screening of HIV patients for eligibility for antiretroviral drugs and refills for those already on anti-retroviral therapy as well as HIV counselling and testing for children and adolescents.

All children enrolled at the centre will be screened every month for infections like TB, pneumonia, malaria, cancers, and skin infections.

Today, more than 7,500 children and caregivers receive HIV/Aids care and are routinely followed up to monitor their CD4 count.

Since the inception of Baylor-Uganda in 2003, it has managed to increase access to HIV/Aids treatment and care services. Out of the 110 centres providing paediatric HIV care services in the country, Baylor-Uganda supports 44 antiretroviral therapy centres mostly in the district hospitals and health centres.

Challenges in providing paediatric HIV/Aids services include limited technical skills among health professionals and lack of basic medical equipment especially in the rural health facilities.