Activists Demand Increased Provision of AIDS Medication. 9/6/10
Nacwola appeals to the government to urgently scale up its investment in the antiretroviral treatment and care to save more than 500,000 Ugandans
By Mercy Nalugo
9 Juyly 2010
The government should provide more funds to ensure anti-retroviral treatment is accessible to all, women activists living with HIV/Aids have demanded.
Delivering a petition to the Speaker of Parliament yesterday in Kampala, the activists under the umbrella organisation, the National Community of Women Living with HIV/Aids in Uganda (Nacwola), also protested against the proposal to criminalise intentional spread of HIV.
Powerful tool
"Nacwola appeals to the government to urgently scale up its investment in the antiretroviral treatment and care in order to save the lives of more than 500,000 Ugandans in dire need of ARVs. HIV treatment does not only serve treatment purposes but a powerful prevention tool," said Ms Agnes Apea, the executive director.
She said the HIV/Aids epidemic is currently on the rise with a prevalent rate of 6.4 per cent among adults and 7 per cent among children claiming over 60,000 lives annually.
"We are concerned that 73,000 of the 110,000 new infections every year where over 66 per cent are women. Of these, only 53percent of the women living with advanced HIV and only 52 percent of pregnant women living with HIV receive anti-retroviral therapy even though 21 percent of the HIV /Aids transmission results from mother to child transmission," Ms Apea said.
Ms Florence Buruwa, a member of the organisation, said whenever the women go to access anti-retrovirals, they are told they are out of stock yet they are in dire need of the drugs.
"We want the HIV/Aids treatment given priority by the government to enable us save lives of the many desperate people who are dying now," Ms Buruwa said.
The women noted that the government should delete a clause in a new Bill on HIV that criminalises the intentional spread of Aids.
"Also other clauses on mandatory testing and mandatory or unauthorised disclosure provisions should be deleted from the HIV/Aids Prevention and Control Bill and protect women living with HIV/Aids," they said.
The Bill is before the parliamentary HIV/Aids committee for scrutiny.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi told the activists that they would be given a chance to share their views when the Bill is discussed by the committee.