Hassan Lanyamoi, the chairperson for Moroto Organization of People Living with Aids – MOPA says in Moroto only Moroto Regional referral hospital and the 3rd Division UPDF Hospital are offering HIV/Aids services and nutritional food support in the whole district.
People Living with HIV/Aids in Karamoja region are demanding that government decentralizes the provision of HIV/Aids services down to the local levels.
They claim that services like the provision of treatment and care and testing for CD 4 count among others are only available in the main hospitals which are located in towns leaving those in the villages to suffer.
Hassan Lanyamoi, the chairperson for Moroto Organization of People Living with Aids – MOPA says in Moroto only Moroto Regional referral hospital and the 3rd Division UPDF Hospital are offering HIV/Aids services and nutritional food support in the whole district.
He says this has left many clients in the villages to suffer as most of them trek several kilometers to these health units to look for antiretroviral therapy.
He says government should utilize the many Aids organizations operating in the region to facilitate and decentralize services to the local health units across the region.
Lanyamoi, who says he has lived with the HIV virus since 2001 says that government’s efforts in achieving the fight against new infections may not be realized if services are not brought closer to the locals.
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He says the recent announcement by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria canceling its next funding round, has cast a shadow over any celebrations and highlighted the precarious nature of HIV/Aids funding.
Grace Likura, a mother of five from Nadunget Sub County says it has been difficult for her to access the ARV drugs as she has to walk about 17 kilometers to access the treatment.
Likura suggests that government should at least ensure that HIV/Aids services are established in all the health center IIIs across the country so as those in the villages can also access treatment easily.
67-year-old Sarah Napengo, another resident from Nadunget also says she no longer goes for her ARVs because of the distance to the main hospital.
She appeals to NGOs handling HIV/Aids services to establish mobile services for clients so that some of them who are too weak to go to the hospital can receive treatment from home.
Dr. Micheal Omeke, the Moroto District health officer claims that a total of 13 health centers are providing HIV/Aids services.
However Omeke is concerned that the world's largest donor to HIV/AIDS efforts, the United States that contributes about 54% of international AIDS financing has cut its global Aids budget for the second year running.
He says the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief—PEPFAR in 2012 will be 90 million dollars less than the current allocation - and support for the Global Fund has flat-lined.
He says that the cost implications are huge, particularly for countries such as Uganda that rely heavily on PEPFAR.
According to Médecins Sans Frontières -MSF, less than half of the people needing treatment in Uganda get it, and PEPFAR currently supports 75 percent of all patients receiving ARVs in the country. International donors are increasingly requesting that Uganda look for domestic funds to support its response.
Denis Olaka
Guest
