Saturday, MAY 16, 2009 from the MONITOR ONLINE
Uganda has run out of HIV/Aids testing kits and funds to treat sexually transmitted infections, leading to a fresh surge in infections.
Dr Kihumuro Apuuli, the director general of Uganda Aids Commission, told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday that due to lack of funds from government, the fight against HIV/Aids through prevention has suffered a slowdown, insisting that lack of testing kits in the country has exacerbated the infection.
“We have run out of HIV/Aids testing kits needed for prevention from the virus because as a country we have turned ourselves into beggars,” Dr Apuuli said. “As I talk now, there is no money to treat sexually transmitted infections and this is a serious problem.”
MPs heard that HIV antibody testing, shows whether a person has been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Antibody tests are also known as ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) tests.
In Uganda, three HIV tests are recommended. The first is Determine which costs about Shs3,000. This is followed by Statpack (the confirmatory test) which costs about Shs17,000, while the third test, which is the tie breaker in case of discrepancies with the first two, costs about Shs29,000.
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It has emerged that unless government provides Shs10 billion, more Ugandans will continue spreading the virus without their knowledge. Dr Apuuli told MPs that Uganda relies heavily on donations to fund its HIV/Aids fight; a situation that could plunge the country into a catastrophe if major donors like the US government pulls out.
“The government should provide funds for HIV/Aids instead of relying on handouts from donors. We want government to budget for condoms needed for prevention as we deal with treatment of those who are already infected,” he said. He said key donors, the Department for International Development and Danish Government’s three year funding projects will end on June 30, 2009 and June 30, 2010 respectively.
When contacted, the general manager National Medical Stores (NMS) Mr Moses Kamabare, said that the HIV testing kits available can last between 4-5 months. “We have enough stocks for at least 4-5 months, but we expect to get more after the available stocks have run out,” Mr Kamabare said. “The only problem is that all these HIV testing kits are from donors and we are not sure what will happen if they pull out because of this credit crunch that has hit developed countries.”
About condoms, Mr Kamabare expressed concern that although NMS has enough stocks, many are expiring because health units are not delivering them to the beneficiaries, something that has increased new HIV infections in the country.
Ministry of Health estimates that more than 1 million people are affected by the condition, representing 3.7 per cent of the estimated 30 million Ugandans. Shadow minister for health Francis Epetait puts the estimated number of people infected with the virus that causes Aids at 3 million.
Dr Sam Okware, a commissioner for community health at the Ministry of Health said at a recent news conference: “New infections keep outstripping the capacity to treat them and prevent Aids related deaths. The cost of treatment is very high. It costs $14,000 to treat an individual per year. We are fighting a losing battle.”
This information was corroborated by Dr Apuuli who said: “People no longer care about their lives. They think that there is medicine to keep them going.” He denied reports that the Commission is not as effective as initially envisaged due to poor political leadership.
“We are efficient which is the reason we won the African Jury Award for best demonstration of map results in 2007,” he said.
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