Noerine Kaleeba: An iconic leader in our midst

The seeds of greatness usually manifest as bad situations and this cannot be further from the truth for Noerine Kaleeba. When nursing her ailing husband who had HIV/Aids on his death bed in Mulago Hospital, it was only their parents and a friend called Mary Lukubo who offered them any form of support. The stigma and rejection was that bad. There was lack of information about how the disease is spread, so no one wanted to associate with the victims or even their families sometimes, for fear of getting infected. Indeed, the first sufferers died dejected, humiliated and isolated.

Instead of cowering in the face of negativity however, the couple decided it was time to stand strong not only for themselves but for other people facing the same predicament. With 14 other people, 12 of them HIV positive, they resolved to start a forum that would offer support and encouragement to victims.
Unfortunately, her husband, Christopher Kaleeba, passed away in January, 1987 before this dream could be achieved. The rest of the team nonetheless went ahead with the vision that saw the birth of The Aids Support Organisation (Taso) in November, 1987.

At the time, Kaleeba thought she too was infected by default. With this sense of urgency that she too would succumb to the disease anytime, she threw herself behind this voluntary work to the point of resigning from her paid job as the Principal of Mulago’s School of Physiotherapy in 1990 much as she had four young daughters to look after and see through school.

With the help of the medical superintendent of Old Mulago then, Dr Stella Tibayungwa, the team acquired a room in Mulago Hospital which housed their first office. And as one of the founders and the director, Kaleeba was charged with the responsibility of getting donor support to run their activities. These included restoring hope and dignity among HIV patients and their families, and addressing the stigma attached to the disease.
Taso grew in leaps and bounds becoming a reference point all over the world as an indigenous movement that could successfully disseminate information and fight the stigma attached to a disease that was dreadful and incurable at the time.

After 10 years at the helm of Taso leadership as the Executive Director, she was identified by UN-Aids and recruited as their partnerships and communities’ mobilization advisor focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. Her duty station was in Geneva and she worked there till 2007.

All the while however, she knew she was HIV positive albeit having tested in 1986 and getting negative results. She never bothered to test again until 2006 while in Malawi. To her surprise, the results were again negative. Theirs was a case of discordance.

And she told this newspaper three years ago; “I am glad I was not sure about my status for a long time. It helped me to live, work and plan like I had HIV accomplishing so much in the process.”
Kaleeba is indeed a trail blazer with amazing energy and compassion providing a home and an education for over 30 orphans some of whom have now finished school besides her own four daughters.
Today, Taso offers antiretroviral drugs, counseling and testing services, financial support and community awareness about HIV/Aids. And as Uganda marks its 50th independence anniversary this year, this is Kaleeba’s message to the country.

“As a woman widowed by AIDS, I join all Ugandans in celebrating our 50 years of independence and call upon Ugandans to give thanks to God for the gift of life. But as we celebrate we should also remember those who we have lost to AIDS and re-ignite our passion and commitment to defeat HIV and AIDS in their memory. This year TASO, the organization we founded after my husband’s AIDS diagnosis, will also be celebrating 25 years of service and “positive living” advocacy.

We have come a long way, but we have even a longer way to go in fighting stigma, complacency and preventing the further spread of HIV in order to ensure an HIV and AIDS free Uganda.
It is impossible to talk about the HIV/Aids fight in Uganda without the name Noerine Kaleeba popping up in many people’s minds.

Truly, she is a testimony that Uganda has the necessary brains to steer forward any program without waiting around for international donors to come and help us. We cannot therefore celebrate the 50th independence anniversary without celebrating Noerine Kaleeba. The 60-year-old who is living in what she calls, her retirement home, in Ttakajjunge in Mukono.