Focus on people living with HIV rather than the disease – CSO
A doctor takes a blood sample from a patient . In April 2021, Uganda Aids Commission said there had been reduction in HIV/Aids infections in the country. PHOTO/RACHEL MABALA
What you need to know:
- Dr Moses Watiti, the chairperson of National Forum for People Living with HIV/Aids Network in Uganda, said many of the people living with HIV have little knowledge about the medicines they are taking and many are not adhering well because they don’t understand how the medicines work.
Civil Society Organisations (CS0) and people living with HIV have called upon government and development partners to educate people living with HIV/AIDs about the medicines and side effects to boost adherence to the drugs.
Dr Moses Watiti, the chairperson of National Forum for People Living with HIV/Aids Network in Uganda, said many of the people living with HIV have little knowledge about the medicines they are taking and many are not adhering well because they don’t understand how the medicines work.
“A number of Ugandans are on ARVS but if you ask them what medicine they are on, they will tell you ‘I am on the yellow one’…, but the truth is every person on ARVs is on at least three medicines. They should be knowing these names,” he said.
Dr Watiti added: “This is very important because for example during lockdown, I went to different places, they were given the wrong medicines. Some were on second-line and they were given the first line medicine simply because they were illiterate about this medicine.”
Ms Beatrice Ajonye, the program coordinator at International Community of Women Living with HIV in Eastern Africa (ICWEA), while representing other CSO’s called upon US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) a US governments bilateral AIDS investment, to invest in a new comprehensive treatment literacy, the program implemented by networks of people living with HIV in order to ensure people are empowered and informed to demand quality services.
According to Uganda Aids Commission (UAC), 38,000 new HIV infections were registered in 2020 which is 28 per cent lower than 53,000 infections recorded in 2019. However, they state that an estimated 156,247 people still do not know they are living with HIV.
Mr Kenneth Mwehonge, the program manager at Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development urged partners and the government to increase funding to address the issue of stockouts of pediatric HIV treatment and STI treatment.
Mr Denis Bwanika, the program and outreach advisor PEPFAR said the recommendations raised will set a series of engagements to respond to what the community needs.
