NEWS: Army at high risk of HIV/AIDS

Brig. Silver Kayembe, a UPDF officer, (L) chatting with Col. Johnson Muma in Jinja

Friday, 13th March, 2009 from NEW VISION

ARMIES in Africa are at high risk of getting HIV/AIDS by the nature of their job, the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) has said. Prof. Peter Mugyenyi said because army officers live a distance away from their families, it puts them at a high risk of contracting the virus. Mugyenyi added that despite the preventive measures put in place, the prevalence of the disease had increased in Africa, with only three million, of the 25million infected, on treatment. He was on Wednesday opening a three-day international conference at the Jinja Nile Resort Hotel. The conference was convened by the African Union and sponsored by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) based in South Africa. The armed forces in African countries, Mugyenyi advised, should come up with prevention campaign programmes and initiate joint unit operations to fight HIV/AIDS. The conference attracted 60 participants from South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Chad among others. Mugyenyi, also the Chancellor, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, urged the soldiers not to succumb to the pressures of low levels of education and poverty which hinder the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Maj. Felix Kulayigye, the UPDF spokesman advised African armies to come up with an African HIV/AIDS and military common policy. “We should control the infections through educative programmes, HIV testing and counselling and share experiences and control methods with other military forces in Africa,” Kulayigye suggested. He noted that HIV/AIDS had highly affected the UPDF and other forces on the peace keeping mission. “Most soldiers are always away from their families on peace keeping missions (like) in the DR Congo and in Somalia; they are the most prone to HIV/AIDS.” We need a joint plan for servicemen who get infected in the course of military services.” Brig. Charles Angina the UPDF Chief of Staff, called for a joint effort to fight the disease.