Cross generational sex is sighted as a leading cause of HIV infections among young girls in Uganda.

At least 570 young girls are infected with HIV in Uganda according to the latest findings by a United Nations report.

The findings is a set back to the country’s efforts to curb the scourge that has claimed thousands of lives since it was first discovered in the early 80’s.

It is also more scaring as the report points out that the most infected group with HIV is that of girls especially between the ages of 15-24 years.

“Go look at those posh vehicles parked at girls university hostels, those men are not picking or visiting their daughters but they are picking other people’s daughters,” said Dr Zepher Ranyabokabo from Ministry of Health who attributed this trend to cross-generational sex and the use of money to lure unsuspecting young naïve girls.

Ranyabokabo was speaking during a dissemination conference on the current prevalence HIV rate hosted by Alliance of African Mayors’ Initiative for Community Action on Aids at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala yesterday. The conference was intended to draw strategies to improve urban health, end cholera and HIV/Aids pandemic by 2030.

“In Africa, Uganda is second to South Africa, where at least 2,363 get infected with HIV every week, compared to 468 for Kenya, 491 for Tanzania and only 25 for Rwanda,” says the UNAIDS report dated 2013, which also quotes the 2014 US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief.

The report put teenage girls in the group of key populations where HIV prevalence is highest. The group was in the past dominated by sex workers, fishermen, long distance truck drivers and boda boda cyclists.

Girls from the age of 20-22 have a 7.1 per cent prevalence rate, while boys of the same age have a significantly lower prevalence rate at 2.8 per cent. It says, between the ages of 23 and 24 years, girls’ prevalence rate remains significantly high at 7 per cent more than that of boys of the same age bracket.

The post 570 young girls infected with Aids in Uganda weekly- UN report first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

According to the national coordinator pediatric and adolescent HIV care at the health ministry, Dr. Cordelia Katureebe revealed  that they have for long been receiving complaints from parents and guardians of the children living with HIV about the bitterness the current drug has been pausing to the kids which has also seen them neglect to swallow the drug which makes their lives  riskier, making them develop  more health complications as a result of not being able to take their drugs religiously. She also stresses that with the clinical trial that  started in May  this year and will end in 2017, they are targeting over 3000 children under 15 years across the country and health experts hope to roll it out by 2018.

The  project manager paediatric HIV, at drugs for neglected diseases initiative (DNDi) Dr. Olawale Salami confirms that previous clinical trials on the same pallets have been carried out in Kenya and now in Uganda with results indicating positive thus the need to have it used in our countries with children under 15 years.

But one of the mothers who has a positive child found  at Joint Clinical Reserch Centhre in  Lubowa says the current syrup administered to children is bitter and not very good for kids to consume but with the new formulation of pellets will help and make it easy for the positive kids to swallow their drugs.

The  statistics carried out last year in the country by the ministry of health shows  that 95000 children are estimated to be born with HIV and only 60,000 (63%) are on treatment with 37000 not yet on treatment.

The post Clinical trial on for new and better drug for HIV positive children first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The post A review is needed of health policies for people living with HIV first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The post Researchers ask government to implement WHO guidelines first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Viral Load Test

The Ministry of Health says by end of next year, it would have tested about 800,000 Ugandans with HIV using the new technology that tells the amount of the virus one has in their bodies. The new technology known as Viral load is different from the CD4 count tests that have usually been carried out which could only tell the weakness or strength of the person’s immune system.

According to Aids.gov “viral load” refers to the amount of HIV in a sample of your blood. When your viral load is high, you have more HIV in your body, and that means your immune system is not fighting HIV as well. A viral load test helps provide information on your health status and how well antiretroviral therapy (ART – treatment with HIV medicines) is controlling the virus.

 Dr. Kiyaga Charles, an officer at the Ministry responsible for monitoring the success of this new technology says there is hope that the virus can totally be fought out of the person’s body as they are monitored when they routinely take their ARVs. He says the Ministry has so far received 12m dollars from PEPFA for this project hence calling upon Ugandans living with HIV to embrace this new technology that is greatly used in monitoring the person’s response to ARVs treatment to ensure the virus is completely fought out of the people’s body.

Dr. Kiyaga says the system that was only started in August last year seems to be promising in people who are regularly taking their drugs.

The 2013 HIV AND AIDS Uganda Country Progress Report states that: Although Uganda continues to experience a high rate of new HIV infections; the trend over the last three years shows a decline, from an estimated 162,294 in 2011 and 154,589 in 2012, to 140,908 in 2013. However, HIV incidence increased in adults from 134,634 in 2011 to 139,178 in 2012, and only declined to 131,279 in 2013. Decline in incidence has been more pronounced among children; from 27,660 in 2011, to 15,411 in 2012; and further down to 9,629 in 2013.

Avert noted that 7.2 percent of Uganda’s population is living with HIV, amounting to an estimated 1.4 million people, which includes 190,000 children.

The post 800,000 Ugandans with HIV will have been tested with Viral load by December 2016 – Ministry first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Male circumcision offers partial protection to HIV negative males who have unprotected sex with HIV positive females.

Male circumcision protects males against various Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDS) and STI’s. Uncircumcised men are more likely to harbour the cancer-causing HUMAN PAPILOMA VIRUS (HPV) in their fore skin.

Circumcision therefore offers protection from prostate cancer, and it also offers protection from ulcerative sexually transmitted disease including genital herpes, syphilis and cancroids.

Safe Male circumcision further offers protection from retraction of the glands [head of the penis] and other recurrent infections of the foreskin which leads to loss of skin elasticity. It also offers protection from balanitis, inflammation of the head of penis and protect from thrush caused by Candida.

Ends

The post Benefits of safe male circumcision first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

It seems the sky is the only limit for Uganda now. We have been told by senior sources in Uganda government that the United States of America and the Republic of China are in talks with Kampala government to start buying HIV/AIDS drugs in Uganda.

Uganda currently is one of the countries in the world producing high quality anti retroviral (ARVs) drugs known as the ‘Tenofovir drugs.’

The sources told our Kampala based reporters that the US and China want to buy the tenofovir drugs and they make more research on them. The tenofovir drugs are produced by Quality Chemicals limited, a Kampala based Drug Company.

People living with HIV/AIDS need to take only one pill per day and this drug can not cause drug resistance in the body. The proprietor of Quality Chemicals, Emmanuel Katongole, confirms the development and says that the Tenofovir drugs are easy for people to swallow.

Ends

The post ‘United States and China to buy HIV drugs in Uganda’ first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The ministry of health in collaboration with the Uganda National Drug Authority has started recalling all HIV testing kits which are on the market illegally.

This is after getting information that the kits that are only meant to be used under the guidance of professional medical personnel are now accessed easily by across the counter in drug shops.

The ministry’s public rations officer Rukia Nakamatte says it prohibited to for anyone to test him or herself HIV without undergoing counseling.

Nakamatte says they always have to do pre and post testing counseling which a person cannot do on their own.

She says anyone caught selling HIV testing kits will be prosecuted.

The post Government warns on illegeal HIV testing kits first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

It now looks that Uganda markets are like a dumping area for all poor quality products from China and other countries in Europe, America.

We are told that Uganda’s markets are flooded by fake HIV Home Kits for Self HIV Testing. Sources in Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told us that these fake HIV testing Kits are imported from Chine and also India.

They are sold for only 3,000 Uganda shillings (about £0.80 pence). The minister for trade in Uganda government, Madam Amelia Kyambade urges Ugandans to visit proper HIV/AIDS Blood Testing Centres the government established in different parts of Uganda than relying on fake HIV testing kits sold in Kampala.

The minister says that whoever buys these HIV kits is risking his or her life and the lives of loved ones alike. The kits are suspected to be causing cancer once one uses them.

Ends

The post Uganda markets flooded by fake HIV home kits first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

English: The Red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. Français : Le Ruban rouge, symbole de la solidarité avec les personnes séro-positives. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Executive Director of the National Community for women  living with HIV/AIDS, Florence Buluba says failure by government to implement good policies  will remain a challenge to the anti – HIV activists.

The government has over the years failed to increase the health budget to 15% contrary to the 2003 Maputo Declaration in which all African Union member countries agreed to commit at least 15% of their annual national budgets to the health sector.

The health sector remains one of the least funded with a paltry budgetary allocation of 9%.

Buluba cites the failure to increase the health budget saying this has denied thousands of HIV positive people access to Anti-Retroviral Treatment.

The post government urged to do more to fight HIV/AIDS first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.