May youth from Makerere University remain unemployed

Makerere University under the umbrella of the inter university council of East Africa led by its college of Agriculture and environmental sciences has begun a research to find an HIV/ aids drug from local herbs.

The ongoing research is being conducted in the districts of, Palisa, Mukono, Mpigi,Kaliro and Kampala partnering with traditional herbalists.

his has been revealed by Prof.  John Tabuti the lead researcher at media briefing at Makerere University this afternoon.

Proof Tabuti is hopeful that the drug will be found at the end of the research after all the key herbs in the research have been found.

The three year project titled “Value chain analysis and development of plant-derived medicinal products for management of HIV/AIDS in the face of climate change in the Lake Victoria basin” is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and is implemented by the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), through the Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes). The project has a budget ofUSD$600,000.

This project is going to determine and evaluate plants to produce new anti-HIV therapies. And because plants, the sources of traditional medicines, are threatened, this project will also research, demonstrate and promote plant conservation.

This is a regional project with partnering universities in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. The project is headed by Prof. Philip Aduma of Maseno, Kenya. Professor John Tabuti, an ethnobotanist in Makerere University’sCollege of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is leading the Ugandan team.

Please see Downloads for full proceedings.

Downloads

Highlights from the 23rd Media Briefing: doc(500KB), pdf(55KB)

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The inexpensive machine can tell whether a person has HIV or syphilis or both within only 20 minutes.

The small blood test kit was developed by Samuel Sia, a scientist from the Biomedical department at the Columbia University USA.

The device code named ‘mChip’ is expected to be used in developing countries like Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania among others.

The tests on the use of this device were successfully carried out in Kigali. However its use is yet to be approved by the World Health Organisation.’

The plastic device uses a micro-litre of blood to detect the presence of HIV and syphilis in the human body.

Dr. Katumba Bonny, a dealer in health equipments on Kampala road says that he is seeking clearance from the ministry of health to start importing the new device on the Ugandan market.

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This follows reports that the life prolonging drugs for HIV positive people were out of stock in the country, the only one in Africa with an ARV production plant.

The much needed ARV drugs

The minister of Health Dr. Christine Andoa tells journalists in Kampala that the country has stocked adequate ARVs and if there are any issues, it could be in the drug supply chain.

She said that the National Medical Stores have ARVS but the government has a problem of distributing the ARVS to district hospitals because of inadequate staff.

She said that the ministry of Health has directed that the National medical stores to work with the Joint medical stores to have ARVS in all districts.

By Isaac Senabulya

The post Uganda Ministry of Health assures in availability of HIV/AIDS ARV drugs first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Trouble arose from reports that they deliberately failed to attend to hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients that turned u at the Health centre for the last one week.

The district Health officer Dr. Peter Kusoro said patients were denied treatment and says the medical workers risky disciplinary action.

Out of the many Health workers are Unit, five are trained to handle HIV/AIDS patients but on Wednesday faces of positive pregnant mothers, elderly women and children stormed the hospital protesting failure by the Heath workers failure to give them the antiviral drugs.

Lirara resident district commissioner Susan Wakenye has also ordered for the arrest of these medical workers who absconded their duties living patients dying.

Akenye visited the Health unit and found the patients lying under the mango tree while others were seeping at the antiviral therapy ward; she said this is totally unacceptable.

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The patients have complained that for the last one week, they have been denied access to the life prolonging drugs for HIV positive people and no clear explanation has been given by the hospital administrators.

The much needed ARV drugs

The chairman of KAMIDIRO persons living with HIV/AIDS Tom Odyeke says they came to the health centre III three times but they were denied access to the drugs.

Odyeke narrated that on July 1st 2011 the in-charge of the health unit Miseki Ochen who used to attend to them went on a one long annual leave and left Alex Etumu the medical officer to take charge of the management until July 30th when will resume work.

But according to Lira resident district commission Susan Akanyi Etumu the medical workers went away without informing any one.

Beatrice Amoro and Jennifer Atim both attached to ARTT clinic reportedly failed to show-up at their work place since last week according to the RDC.

The sub-county Chairperson, Joel Peter Atine said he had for the last one month been receiving complaints from patients that they have been neglected by the health workers.

Some health workers at the clinic have reportedly not been reporting to work since last week. Marion Teddy Adson a registered midwife says the government was responsible for the situation. She says only three staff at Bar health centre have been getting regular training on the management of the anti retroviral drugs.

The district health officer Dr. peter Kusolo says would conduct investigation into the misconduct at the health unit. Kusolo says he sees no reason why the patients should not be given ARVs when they are available.

ARVs are supposed to be taken on schedule and failure to take the anti-retrial rival’s at the right intervals breeds resistance of HIV to the drugs which.

By Mugisa Isaac Mathias

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The district aids focal person Kabarole district Mpuga Hosea calls upon the government to provide more funds in its budget for HIV/AIDS so as to reduce the spread of the disease in the country.

Mpuga observed that his department still faces a lot of challenges and hardships in carrying out sensitization in the district.
He noted that people in the villages have not received adequate sensitization yet they remain the most ignorant about the scourge.

Mpuga says the little money received is to be used to educate the leaders and a few people living with the disease.
Mpuga warned the youth against involving themselves in risky sexual behaviors and advised them to use condoms if they can’t abstain. He was speaking to district leaders meeting held at Mucwa council chambers in Fort portal.

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The Kabarole district focal person Mpunga Hosea revealed that the district has formed a network of people living with HIV which he said is deeply rooted at sub county level.

He explained that the network aims at helping all HIV victims live a healthy and happy life by easily accessing their ARV drugs.

Domestic violence especially among married couples was identified as the number one contributing factor to the spread of HIV/AIDS in the district and the country at large.

Human rights activists who attended the platform warned participants against discriminating AIDS victims.

By Sunday Rogers

The post People living with HIV/AIDS launch campaign against domestic violence first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The ministry in a report revealed that 90% of the children get the infection from their mothers during child birth.

Uganda children

The ministry is concerned that the number of HIV infections among children is rising yet the ministry is faced with inability to track children from their places of residence so as to advise them on how and when they should start having medication.

The government of Uganda with sup[port from different international agencies offers free anti retroviral drugs to HIV positive people in different health centres, but not all those infected can easily access these drugs.

These concerns were raised by a group of children from Baylor Uganda a local NGO that looks after HIV infected children have petitioned women MPs asking them to make sure they monitor provision of drugs for AIDS in hospitals and to continue sensitizing the public about the existence of HIV virus so that they can protect
themselves from infection.

The Minister of Health Androa Christine appeals to men to get more concerned about their wives and children if the disease is to be fought. She said if men are more concerned and committed, they will less likely engage in extra marital affairs, and if a couple is already infected, the man will support the woman to attend Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV.

The program manager STD/AIDS control at the Ministry of health Dr. Zainab Akol says there is 51% prevalence of the virus among the women due to cultural, religious and peer pressure reasons where they want to have a class of belonging that forces them to go in for much older men or have relationships against their wish.
By Isaac Senabulya

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women demonstrating for more attention to HIV/AIDS

Over 20 children from Baylor Uganda presented a petitioned today also demanding government to provide enough antiretroviral drugs  for pregnant mothers in all hospitals of Uganda.

The children say that they are many children out there who are infected with HIV but cannot access the life prolonging ARVdrugs. They say that pregnant mothers be mobilized to access HIV testing and protect the new born babies from HIV.

The children presented the petition during the seminar organised by the ministry of health to sensitize women MPs how they can eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV.

The children’s statement to the minister says that women MPs should convince their male counter parts to support laws that will protect women from harassment because of their HIV status.

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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.

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