The post Speaker Kadaga urges parents not marry off their daughters when young first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Children took over key roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to voice their support for millions of their peers who are unschooled, unprotected.

Uganda joined the world in celebrating the United Nations Universal Children’s Day that took place yesterday.  The day marked every year to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Children is intended to bring nations together to promote child welfare.

Established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year, it is aimed at promoting international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

This year, United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) under the theme ‘Kids Take Over’ had children take over grown-up roles in the media to voice support for children in need across the globe. UNICEF encouraged young people across the world to step into their parents shoes and address the plight of those less fortunate from platforms they would ordinarily be too short to reach.

ALSO READ:7 in 10 Ugandan children under five have never been registered

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Justin Forsyth, said, “From Auckland to Amman and from New York to N’Djamena, we want children to campaign in their schools and communities to help save children’s lives, fight for their rights and fulfill their potential.”

School children in Uganda from different parts of the country took over key roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to voice their support for millions of their peers who are unschooled, unprotected and uprooted on 20th November.

“I want children to have freedom. These days when you talk about freedom, you are spoiling us. We should be left to visit our friends the ways grown up ones are left to go out and move around” Mildred Najjemba said shortly after appearing on Urban TV’s ‘Urban Today’ program hosted by Deedan and Mackenzie yesterday.

ALSO READ:Children rights activists call for review of sex education curriculum

Pope Francis in his message encouraged everyone to work together to ensure that children continue to smile: their faces serene, filled with joy and hope.

Let us work together to ensure that children continue to smile: their faces serene, filled with joy and hope. #WorldChildrensDay

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 20, 2017

The post Kids take over on World Children’s Day first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Part of a Kampala street that was flooded after a heavy down pour.

Drought exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern could lead to a spike in new HIV infections in southern Africa as women and girls turn to sex to survive and patients miss treatments, the United Nations children’s’ agency UNICEF said on Tuesday.

More than 60 million people, two thirds of them in east and southern Africa, are facing food shortages because of droughts linked to El Nino, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, according to the United Nations.

Uganda is among the countries that experience El Nino that in some cases triggers landslides especially in the mountainous regions of Bududa and Bundibugyo districts.

The Report says many patients are refusing to take anti-retroviral therapy (ART) on an empty stomach, others are deciding to spend their limited income on food rather than transport to a health facility, UNICEF said.

“People sometimes are having to resort to these extreme choices between eating and taking life-saving medication,” Patsy Nakell, UNICEF spokeswoman, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“This is the global epicenter of the HIV epidemic and when you have a situation like this where people are struggling to have access to food and to clean water then you know (they) will resort to what we call negative coping mechanisms.”

The situation was especially difficult in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, which have adult HIV prevalence of more than 10 percent, and have been hard hit by El Nino, Nakell said.

“This is like a double whammy in many ways,” she said in a phone interview from Johannesburg.

“When you don’t have anything to begin with, your ability to stretch and be flexible is very limited.”

Nakell said UNICEF had anecdotal evidence of women and children in southern Africa resorting to selling sex to get money for food, which was exacerbating their risk of infection.

She said the agency was concerned the situation in the region might get worse with the arrival of La Nina, a weather pattern linked to floods and droughts, when waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean cool after a phase of El Nino.

The agency has been helping people with access to clean water, vaccinations and HIV awareness program, Nakell said.

UNICEF has secured half of the $200 million needed to fund the response to El Nino, but was struggling to secure the rest, she said.

Weather forecasters in Japan, Australia and the United States predict a 50 percent to 75 percent chance of La Nina developing in the second half of 2016.

The post UNICEF warns of a spike in HIV infections due to El Nino first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Photo: Able Child Africa

As the numbers of persons with disability continue to rise globally, Uganda society for disabled children (USDC), an organization that helps disabled children in the country, is asking government and other stake holders to put in more resources to address the situation. Uganda society for disabled children program officer Geoffrey Katende says that much as the organization in conjunction with other various government departments and other civil society organizations are offering services to the disabled people especially children, a lot more needs to be done to reach the soaring numbers.

Uganda society for disabled children in its drive to help children with disabilities has donated wheel chairs in the districts of Masaka, Iganga and Amudat. However Katende says they need more funds to reach many disabled children in various parts of the country. Katende further says that a national action plan supported by UNICEF and together with the Ministry of gender and other stakeholders is being discussed and this will help them to come up with concrete solutions to help people with disabilities in the country.

The post USDC asks government for resources to address disability first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

UNICEF Internships: The UNICEF Internship Programme offers eligible/qualified students at both Headquarters and country offices the opportunity to acquire direct practical experience in UNICEF’s work under the direct supervision of experienced UNICEF staff.

Eligibility requirements:

• You need to be a currently-enrolled graduate or post-graduate student in a field related to UNICEF’s interests. You must be enrolled during the full duration of the proposed internship period. At this time we do not accept undergraduates.
• You should be fluent in English and one other UNICEF working language i.e. French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian or Chinese.
• Your academic performance should be excellent, as demonstrated by recent university or institution records.
• Your application for an internship should be supported by your university or related institution. A minimum requirement is a letter from one of your professors supporting your application. This is only needed when an internship assignment has been offered to you.
• Applicants must have a demonstrated interest in the field of international development, particularly in areas of UNICEF priorities.
• Ability to adapt and work in a multi-cultural setting.
• Has strong commitment to the values and principles of the United Nations and UNICEF’s mission, guiding principles and Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Additional consideration will be given for any past work experiences.

For more information and application please see: UNICEF Internships

The post Get opportunity for UNICEF Internships first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

“It has taken the world ten years to achieve this level of momentum,” says Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of WHO’s HIV Department.  “There is now a very real possibility of getting ahead of the epidemic. But this can only be achieved by both sustaining and accelerating this momentum over the next decade and beyond.”

Advances in HIV science and programme innovations over the past year add hope for future progress. In times of economic austerity it will be essential to rapidly apply new science, technologies and approaches to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HIV programmes in countries.

The report highlights what is already working:

• Improved access to HIV testing services enabled 61% of pregnant women in eastern and southern Africa to receive testing and counseling for HIV – up from 14% in 2005.

• Close to half (48%) of pregnant women in need receive effective medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in 2010.

• Antiretroviral therapy (ART), which not only improves the health and well-being of the infected people but also stops further HIV transmission, is available now for 6.65 million people in low- and middle-income countries, accounting for 47% of the 14.2 million people eligible to receive it.

When people are healthier, they are better able to cope financially. The report acknowledges that investment in HIV services could lead to total gains of up to US$34 billion by 2020 in increased economic activity and productivity, more than offsetting the costs of ART programmes.

“2011 has been a game changing year. With new science, unprecedented political leadership and continued progress in the AIDS response, countries have a window of opportunity to seize this momentum and take their responses to the next level,” said Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director, Programme, UNAIDS. “By investing wisely, countries can increase efficiencies, reduce costs and improve on results. However, gains made to date are being threatened by a decline in resources for AIDS.”

The report also points to what still needs to be done:

• More than half of the people who need antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries are still unable to access it. Many of them do not even know that they have HIV.

• Despite the growing body of evidence as to what countries need to focus on to make a real impact on their epidemics, some are still not tailoring their programmes for those who are most at risk and in need. In many cases, groups including adolescent girls, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, prisoners and migrants remain unable to access HIV prevention and treatment services.

Worldwide, the vast majority (64%) of people aged 15-24 living with HIV today are female. The rate is even higher in sub-Saharan Africa where girls and young women make up 71% of all young people living with HIV – essentially because prevention strategies are not reaching them.

Key populations are continually marginalized. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, more than 60% of those living with HIV are people who inject drugs. But injecting drug users account for only 22% of those receiving ART.

Although better services to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV have averted some 350 000 new infections among children, some 3.4 million children are living with HIV – many of whom lack HIV treatment. Only about one in four children in need of HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries received it in 2010, as compared to 1 in 2 adults.

“While there have been gains in treatment, care and support available to adults, we note that progress for children is slower,” says Leila Pakkala, Director of the UNICEF Office in Geneva.  “The coverage of HIV interventions for children remains alarmingly low. Through concerted action and equity-focused strategies, we must make sure that global efforts are working for children as well as adults”.

HIV in regions and countries

In 2010, HIV epidemics and responses in different parts of the world vary with shifting trends, progress rates and outcomes.

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the biggest overall annual increase–30%–in the number of people accessing ART. Three countries (Botswana, Namibia and Rwanda) have achieved universal coverage (80%) for HIV prevention, treatment and care services. The regional ART coverage rate stood at 39% at the end of 2010. Approximately 50% of pregnant women living with HIV receive treatment to prevent mother-to child transmission of HIV. And 21% of children in need are able to get paediatric HIV treatments. There were 1.9 million new infections in the region, where 22.9 million people are living with HIV. There are some major disparities in progress between different parts of the region. Countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have reached much higher coverage rates for ART (56%) and PMTCT (64%) than countries in Western and Central Africa (30% and 18% respectively).

Asia shows a stabilizing epidemic overall, but new infections are very high in some communities. Of the 4.8 million people living with HIV in Asia, nearly half (49%) are in India. Antiretroviral treatment coverage is increasing with 39% of adults and children in need of HIV treatment having access. Coverage of PMTCT services is relatively low- (16%).

Eastern Europe and Central Asia presents a dramatic growth in HIV, with new infections increasing by 250% in the past decade. Over 90% of these infections occur in just two countries: Russia and Ukraine. The region demonstrates high coverage rates for PMTCT and paediatric HIV treatment (with 78% and 65% coverage rates respectively). However, ART coverage is very low at 23%, particularly among the most affected people- the ones who inject drugs.

Middle East and North Africa records the highest number of HIV infections ever in the region (59 000) in 2010, which represents a 36% increase over the past year. Coverage of HIV services are very low in the region: 10% for ART, 5% for paediatric treatment and 4% for PMTCT.

Latin America and the Caribbean have a stabilizing epidemic with 1.5 million living with HIV in Latin America and 200 000 in the Caribbean. HIV is predominantly among networks of men who have sex with men in Latin America. In the Caribbean though, women are the more affected group accounting for 53% of people living with HIV. The region has ART coverage of 63% for adults and 39% for children.  Coverage for effective PMTCT regimen is relatively high at 74%.

Sustaining the HIV response through the next 10 years

• Countries are already showing marked efficiency gains in HIV programmes: South Africa reduced HIV drug costs by more than 50% over a two-year period by implementing a new tendering strategy for procurement. Uganda saved US$2 million by shifting to simpler paediatric regimens. Such efficiencies are promoted throughTreatment 2.0 – an initiative launched by WHO and UNAIDS in 2010 to promote simpler, cheaper and easier-to-deliver HIV treatment and diagnostic tools, combined with decentralized services that are supported by communities.

• A WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF “Elimination Initiative” aims to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keep their mothers alive.

• WHO is developing new guidance on the strategic use of antiretroviral drugs for both prevention and treatment.

• WHO’s “Global Health Sector Strategy on HIV/AIDS, 2011-2015”, endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2011 highlights the importance of continuing efforts to optimize HIV treatment and “combination” prevention – the use of a range of different approaches to reduce people’s risk of infection.

The 2011 “Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Response” is the comprehensive report on both the epidemiology and progress rates in access to HIV services globally and in regions and countries. It has been jointly developed by WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, in collaboration with national and international partners.

The post Status of the epidemic as world marks HIV/AIDS Day first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Handing over the bicycles to the Reverend at St Johns cathedral, the Rwenzori diocese UNICEF focal person Rev Kalyebara Stephen said UNICEF is using the church structures to implement its programs of good health, nutrition and PMTCT (Prevention of  Mother to Child Transmission of HIV) among Ugandans.

He said that the bicycles are to be distributed in the five districts of the Rwenzori diocese that include Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo.

The bishop of Rwenzori diocese Rt Rev Reuben Kisembo challenged fellow men of God to use the bicycles to implement UNICEF programs.

Bishop Kisembo said that the bicycles are a property of the church at Parish level and appealed to the Reverends to guard them jealously from any harm.

Moses Ikagobya the vice chairperson Kabarole district urged the beneficiaries to enhance accountability and transparency so as to attract more donors in the diocese.

By Rogers Sunday

The post UNICEF donates to Rwenzori diocese first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The minister for Gender Labor and social development, Syda Bumba says the program is targeting Elderly and venerable families living under chronic poverty.

The districts which will benefit from the intervention include Katakwi, Moroto,Apac, Nebbi and Nakapiripirit, with 600,000 elderly persons and vulnerable families targeted.

She says the program is a component of 160 billion shillings offered by the Irish government UNICEF, and the UK Department for international development.

Each of the beneficiaries will receive 220,000 shillings every month, to enable then access essential necessities.

Minister Syda Bumba says the program will soon be rolled out to other parts of the country where more vulnerable Ugandans will benefit.

By Olive Eyotaru

The post Uganda starts paying elderly and vulnerable citizens first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Syda Bbumba now Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development

Speaking at a function to mark the day in Kampala today, minister of gender, labour and social development, Syda Bbumba state, other intervention are yet to come to see that street children are looked after well just like other kids and its upon this matter that she called upon street kids across the country not to loose hope but only believe that time is coming for them to have a comfortable life.

The country representative, UNICEF, Sylvia Pasty challenges govt to use such programmee to transform society and desist from being over powered by challenges coming along as a result of implementing them.

The chairman, National Council for Children, Bwanbale is also urging NGOs, CBOs dealing on children related issues to righteously perform their duties but not using vulnerable children for selfish gains.

However, the kids, ministers and diplomats were lectured by local musician, Kyagulanyi Sentamu AKA Bobie Wine on how he transformed from a street kid to a very influencial person in this country before taking on the dance flow to entertain the kids.

Its through this programme that street kids, orphans will be taken to school, access health, judicial services among others.

Ultimate Media

The post Uganda Gender and Social Development ministry launches children support first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.