Sheila Naturinda and Robert Mwanje
10 July 2009
Kampala — THE Ministry of Health has dispatched an emergency medical team to the Teso region, following reports that some HIV/AIDS patients have stopped taking anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) due to hunger.
The director of the National AIDS Control Programme, Dr Zainab Akol, said the team was due to leave Kampala on Thursday.
She said abandoning the life-saving drugs could have detrimental effects to the health of the patients. Akol added that it could also create drug-resistant strains of HIV, which could easily spread countrywide.
"We had a crisis meeting and noted that these revelations needed emergency interventions. We shall assess the magnitude of the problem to be able to design possible effective interventions." She said the team would carry food, especially for children and breast feeding mothers living with HIV. "We will handle those who are badly off first," Akol said.
"Children are getting malnourished. Mothers whom we advised to continue breastfeeding can no longer do it. Unfortunately, the news is all about old people dying of hunger," she said. "Good Nutrition has been our theme as far as living positively is concerned. You cannot take ARVs without eating."
Akol disclosed that the most affected areas were Bukedea-Madera, Lolic and Ongino sub-counties in Kumi district, plus Amuria and Katakwi districts.
The region has lately been in the news after reports that prolonged drought has caused famine with many people, especially the elderly dieing due to starvation.
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