Ugandan men have been challenged to take the lead in the campaign to have couples test for HIV/AIDS so as to help reduce the effects of the epidemic in the country.

The Programme officer of the Health Communication partnership Jude Ssenyonjo, says HIV testing among Ugandan married couples enables them to know their HIV/AIDS and Sero status which helps them to take care of themselves, discuss HIV treatment and seek for support among other things.

Senyonjo says Health Communication partnership has only registered 13,000 couples who have tested for HIV since last year in eight districts but says most men don’t want to test for their HIV/AIDS status.

He says the figure is still too low compared to Health Communication partnership target of 40,000 couples per year which is healthy enough to enable a successful campaign against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The campaign to fight HIV/AIDS among married couples in Uganda started in high gears after a recent study by Uganda’s Makerere University found out that although the country’s HIV/AIDS prevention programs primarily focus on younger, unmarried people, new cases of the disease are increasingly occurring among married couples of ages 30 to 40 years.

Health Communication partnership launched the drive to voluntarily test for HIV by couples dubbed ‘Go together Know together’ in September 2009.

By Walakira Nyanzi, Ultimate Media

The post Ugandan men challenged to take lead in HIV testing first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

MP Betty Amongi

The Uganda Woman Member of Parliament for APAC district in Northern Uganda, Betty Amongi has called upon the various cultural institutions in Uganda to step up their efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Betty Amongi told Members of parliament in Kampala that it is not just enough for cultural institutions to streamline prevention of HIV/AIDS in their policies and programmes.

She says cultural institutions should put up a spirited fight against certain African cultural practices and behaviors like polygamy that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

She says that if cultural institutions do that, then they will contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS more positively than they are doing now.

HIV/AIDS remains one of the leading causes of death in the country, the government of president Museveni has been credited for reducing the scourge through better policies and improved funding on programmes related to treatment and prevention.

Ultimate Media

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HIV/AIDS preventive campaigns in Uganda

Makerere University Department of Public Health Don Dr. Elizeus Rutebemberwa has revealed that by 2025 Uganda’s economy will be reduced by up to 39 percent due to the increased prevalence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Uganda.

HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Uganda have stagnated causing worries among the various stakeholders especially the civil society, the government and donors.

Dr. Rutebemberwa has told MPs during a dialogue at Uganda Parliament in Kampala today (June 2, 2010) on the need for a renewed commitment to the fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

He says the disease raises the overall poverty rate by 1.4 percent every year due to sickness, death and increased dependency burden by HIV/AIDS ophaned children.

Makerere University don says poverty caused by HIV/AIDS is more felt in the rural areas at 1.6 percent compared to urban areas where the poverty rates as a result of HIV/AIDS has increased by only 0.9 percent per year.

Dr. Rutebemberwa appealed to Uganda Members of Parliament to put up a committed fight against AIDS so that people’s livelihoods can be improved

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