UGANDA MEDICAL MISSIONS

NEWS: Uganda has only 2,000 Doctors

2010-04-29T10:02:00.001-04:00

Uganda has only 2,000 doctors

Wednesday, 28th April, 2010

Loy Kiryapawo, Kadaga and Sarah Nyombi chatting after the workshop

By Josephine Maseruka

THE deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has blamed the shortage of medical doctors in Uganda on legislators who have not pushed for policies that would increase the number.She regretted that Uganda, with a population of 30 million, has only 2,000 doctors.

“I have read the recently launched National Development Plan, but it lacks policies to increase the number of professional health workers and to ensure their retention when recruited,” Kadaga said.

She made the remarks yesterday at the closing of a half-day information sharing campaign for MPs on new-born, maternal and child health.

“What are we doing about this matter as Parliament? If only 220 doctors graduate every year, how do you expect to reduce maternal and child mortality rate?” Kadaga asked.

“If the Millennium Development Goal of reducing infant, maternal and child mortality by 2015 was to be extended for three decades, we would never achieve the targets with these few medical staff,” she added.

Kadaga said only 40 doctors graduate annually from Gulu University, while 180 doctors graduate from Makerere and Mbarara universities.

“We need to address the issue of increasing the number of doctors from the current ratio of one doctor per 1,000 patients. Let us lobby for a rise in university admissions for students studying medical courses.”

Kadaga was disappointed that the development plan does not emphasise health education.

She said it was “a mistake for legislators to transfer paramedical institutions from the health ministry to that of education.

“The development plan does not capture health education in either of the ministries and this is detrimental to the capacity building of health workers. We must revisit this decision.”

She supported MPs who called for the creation of a standing committee for reproductive health, saying she will include the matter in the rules of Parliament

NEWS: UK tycoon to relocate to Uganda

2010-03-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

UK tycoon to relocate to Uganda
Friday, 12th March, 2010 from NEW VISION ONLINE
Pedleys is selling his property to come to Uganda

By Raymond Baguma
and agencies

A BRITISH telecom tycoon has decided to sell his £1m (about sh3b) house and businesses to move to Uganda, where he will live in a mud hut to raise money for orphans.

The 41-year-old Jon Pedley’s life had been dogged by a criminal record, alcoholism and sex affairs. However, in 2002, his life had a turning point when he was involved in a life-threatening motor accident, after which he turned to God.

After making a full recovery, he said he found religion and gave up alcohol. “I’m now teetotaler and I try to live my life in a way that pleases God,” he told the UK newspaper, Daily Mail.

He is to start a children’s charity, called Uganda Vision, which will also help to build the self-esteem of troubled British children by sending them to Uganda, where they will support locals orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty.

“I’ve lived an incredibly selfish existence,” said Pedley, of Finchingfield, Essex.

“I’ve been convicted of crime, slept rough, been an alcoholic, had affairs and damaged people’s lives, including my own. I’ve always put the pursuit of money in front of everything else.”

His property on sale includes a 16th century-built farmhouse house in Essex with a one-acre garden and a pond and telecom firms Empowered Communications and Eme Tech.

NEWS: Coartem- A dose in time saves life

2010-02-24T10:18:00.002-05:00

By Irene Nabusoba (NEW VISION)

A laboratory technician takes a child’s blood for testing. A baby suffering from malaria could die within 24 hours if not treated immediately

LITTLE Maliza could have probably died had it not been for the drug shop in her neighbourhood. Her mother, Maria Kirya, recounts how Maliza, aged 18 months, developed high temperature and diarrhoea in the evening, only to worsen at night.

“I gave her herbs because the nearest health facility is 20km away.” However, the herbs did not work and Maliza’s condition deteriorated. At 3:00am in the morning, Kirya, a resident of Kakoro village in Pallisa district, ran to the nearest drug shop where she was given panadol and ‘coartem with a green leaf.’

“That is how my little girl survived,” Kirya says. “I did not have money, so I gave the nurse four eggs.”

‘Coartem with a green leaf’ as the medicine is fondly referred to by the locals in Pallisa, is a subsidised and repackaged version of coartem, only found in private medical outlets.

The drugs are an initiative of Medicine for Malaria Ventures (MMV), a Swiss-based organisation. The organisation aims to reduce the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by developing and facilitating delivery of affordable antimalarial drugs.

Dr. Ambrose Talisuna, the MMVs country representative in Uganda, says they conducted a study that saw coartem going for between sh200, 400, 600 (for children’s doses) to sh800 for adults.

On average, coartem costs between sh15,000 and sh25,000. “We distributed coartem to outlets within 5km of households in Budaka, Pallisa, Kaliro and Kamuli,” he says.

Talisuna says five out of every 100 children aged five and below, who had fever in the last two weeks of their survey (over 1,000 households were surveyed per district), received treatment in all the pilot districts.

He said more than a half of all health facilities in Kamuli and Budaka and less than a half in Pallisa had no artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). Half of all the facilities had quinine.

Penny Grewal, MMV’s director for Global Access says they bought one million doses of coartem at $2.5m (about sh5b).

Grewal says the number of people purchasing artemisinin combination drugs in the private clinics rose from almost zero to 55% (over 60 % of the 251 outlets sampled had coartem) from almost zero to 51% while chloroquine dropped from 40% to 11% and quinine from 50% to 35%.

“MMV is extending the project until June when the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm), an initiative of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria takes over,” Grewal says.

The UK government and UNITAID allocarted money to AMFm to subsidise Artemisinin drugs and make them affordable for the patients.

The health ministry has hailed MMV’s initiative, saying it will save about 320 lives a day; 70,000 — 110,000 lives a year. This will help every household save between sh85,000 and 150,000 per year in artemisinin treatment.

Richard Ndyomugyenyi, the programme manager malaria control programme at the ministry, says because of lack of laboratory services, there is a lot of wastage.

Out of 100 people who visit health facilities with malaria symptoms, he says, about 70 do not have malaria but are still treated for the disease.

He says a child with fever due to malaria can die within 24 hours thus the need for effective treatment. However, ministry records show that the number of children under five years receiving treatment within 24 hours of developing fever dropped from 55% in 2005 to 10% in 2008 because of coartem shortages in the country.

In 2009, about 12 million cases of malaria were reported by the Health Management Information System.
Ndyomugyenyi says the Government allocates sh60b for the drugs and ARVs, and soon they will include TB.

“The money can only last us six months. With TB on board we shall only get 20% (only sh12b) which can only last three months,” he argues.

The World Health Organisation remmended artemisinin drugs as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria after the disease became resistant to chloroquine and quinine.

MMV officials recommend that all countries that participate in the AMFm remove barriers to ACT availability.
“Researchers should look for ways to upgrade unlicensed shops and consider granting over-the-counter status to artemisinin drugs,” Grewal says.

Dr. Myers Lugemwa, a senior medical officer at the health ministry, says they will consider the recommendations during roll-out but while the price may not be the same as the ‘green leaf ACTs’, it will still be affordable. He says a dose could cost sh400.

NEWS: Red Cross to Aid 6,000 expectant Mothers

2010-02-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

Red Cross to Aid 6,000 expectant Mothers

Posted Wednesday, February 24 2010 at 16:02 (from THE MONITOR ONLINE)

6,000 expectant women in Uganda are to benefit from a specialized reproductive health project implemented by the Uganda Red Cross Society.

Catherine Ntabadde, the public relations officer of the Uganda Red Cross Society, says the women and children targeted are from the districts of Gulu, Pader, Kitgum and Amuru. She says they will be provided with education on good health and sanitation, professional pre- and post-natal care and medication.

The goal of the project, which is co-sponsored by the Japanese Red Cross Society, is to increase awareness on safe motherhood and to reduce the instances of child and maternal mortality in the four northern Uganad districts.
Michael Nataka, Secretary General of the Uganda Red Cross Society, says selected health center will be given basic maternal health related items for midwifery services. He says meetings will be held every three months to assess the improvement of services at the health centers in order to ensure that as many women as possible are benefiting from them.

Additionally, the Red Cross will train 60 volunteers in safe motherhood to support this initiative.
According to the Ministry of Health 435 of every 100,000 expectant mothers in Uganda die at child birth. The deaths are attributed to poorly equipped health units and ignorance on maternal health on the part of the mothers.

NEWS: Chasing Off the Leopard of Hunger in Uganda

2010-02-24T10:06:00.000-05:00

from COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL:

In July 2009, a cry for help went up in parts of northern and eastern Uganda as many peoplesuccumbed to the severe and persistent drought that swept across half of the nation. Soroti district was one of the localities that was hardest hit. However, this cry was not new to this part of the country.

Every year Soroti district is listed as a statistic for emergency help. It is said to be one of the districts with the highest levels of poverty in the country, with a very low education level andinhabitants ignorant of cultivation skills. Many have painful memories of war.

With unpredictable weather, fromhot and dry conditions that lead to drought and famine, to strong winds and rain that destroy homes and crops, the inhabitants of the land never know what to expect of fickle nature and how to overcome the damage left behind.

To the local inhabitants, the hunger and famine that come with the changing seasons is a leopard looking for the helpless and hopeless to devour. But for a few people in the community, it is time to fight back.

For the beneficiaries of the Asuret and Victory Outreach Orwadai Child Development Centers, it is time to hunt down and chase the “leopard,” and banish it for good.

Mary has watched three of her children die of disease, neglect and ignorance. Her family has beenbrought to its knees with no hope. Being HIV-positive with no money for treatment, both she and her husband Emmanuel had no strength to work for a living, and even then no one to take a chance on them. Life was hard with hardly enough food to eat. Most nights the family went to bed with empty bellies.

Despairing and wracked with disease in 2004 when her husband lost his eyesight, Mary set aside her pride and dignity and resorted to begging on the streets and public buses coming in from outside of town. Her husband stayed at home with their remaining two children.

For four years this was the life she knew. She woke up every morning praying to God to touch the heart of one person whose generosity would extend to her, so her family would have something to eat that night.

In 2008, the Victory Outreach Orwadai Child Development Center opened a few meters from Mary’s home. Mary and her family were one of the first families whose children were identified to benefit from the sponsorship program.

As part of the assistance the family received, Mary and Emmanuel were given 50,000 Uganda shillings (about $27) to start up a business that they could manage. With this money they bought one pig and firewood, and started to sell fried pork to the community members in the town center.

As demand for their food has grown, the duo’s business has moved from selling one pig in two days to currently two pigs a day.

Whereas before they had no food and depended on the mercy of good Samaritans, the family nowis able to have three meals a day as well as a variety of food in their diet.

Out of the profits of the business, Mary and Emmanuel bought a bed, a goat and a sheep. They also joined a”savings” group of people like them benefiting from the program, and were able to save enough money to buy a second sheep. The family hopes the sheep and goats will reproduce, and thatthey will sell them and expandtheir business.

“We have so many plans. We are planning to expand the huts in the eating place and add Irish potatoes and cabbage with tomatoes,” says Mary, who isexcited at her future prospects. “We have great hope in the future.”

Life was not so different for the community of Asuret village, located about an hour away from Soroti town. They too experienced the harsh weather and stalking hunger and famine. When the Asuret Child Development Center opened, the prayers of many were answered.

When given the 50,000 shillings to start up their individual income-generating activities, the beneficiaries of Asuret Child Development Center decided instead to pooltheir money and start up a group activity. This helps also take care of the elderly and weak, who would not be able to maintain their own individual projects.

The group started a chicken and piggery farm, and the members each take turnstending to them daily.

All the beneficiaries in the group are HIV-positive,and being a part of this has given them a lifeline to hold onto.

For many, the profitsfrom the project have enabled them to start their own individual income-generating activities like tailoring, selling charcoal, and small-scale agriculture.

“My children are now happy because I can now go home with something for them every day, unlike before,” says Naome, a widow with seven children, the youngest of whom is HIV-positive and also in the Asuret Child Development Center. Naome started a tailoring business that is now thriving.

The success of the group income-generating activity as well as each person’s individual activities are helping manygroup members pay for their other children’s needs, even thosewho are not registered in the sponsorship program. Most of the group members have also returned the initial investment given to them by the church.

The group’s success has filtered into the community, and the association had had requests from people who are not HIV-positive to join in the investment.

With the weather erratic and difficult to predict in this region, a more sustainable solution found in the income-generating activity programs seems to be the answer for the beneficiaries of both these development centers. They are determined not to remain a statistic, but to be the exception when the “leopard” comes calling next year.

NEWS: Malaria in new areas requires fresh eradication strategy

2010-02-04T15:51:00.001-05:00

COMMENTARY

Malaria in new areas requires fresh eradication strategy

By Pascal Odoch (email the author)

Posted Thursday, February 4 2010 at 00:00

Malaria mosquitoes do not breed above 1,500-2,000 metres and this knowledge has made large tracts of mountainous sub-Saharan Africa to be regarded non-malarial zones. It is against this backdrop that not many people have been able to establish the remote linkage between global warming, climate change and the escalating spread of malaria.
But as temperatures rise, the WHO’s prediction that more land would come under threat has become a fact. Malaria cases are nowadays reported from remote towns and villages in Uganda on account of the global warming regime.

What many of us learnt about Ankole region during geography lesson in primary school days i.e. terracing on the hill slopes, has suddenly now added to its geography lesson menu – shaded areas of malaria prevalence in Uganda. It is bizarre to find the residents of Ankole these days dealing with a disease that until recently was the preserve of the warmer corners of Uganda such as Nebbi, Soroti, Oyam, and Amolatar.

Nonetheless, the Museveni administration has confronted malaria without lying down. It removed user fees at public health facilities; it has deployed a multi-thronged information and education strategy to targeted vulnerable communities; and indeed incrementally increased funding allocation to the health sector to combat the diseases including malaria that prevent children enjoying their fifth birthdays.

NEWS: New malaria vaccine shows promise in children

2010-02-04T15:49:00.000-05:00

New malaria vaccine shows promise in children

(from DAILY MONITOR)

By By Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) (email the author)

Posted Thursday, February 4 2010 at 10:5

IN SUMMARY

The results were strong enough to start a second round of testing in 400 children to see if the vaccine can blunt the infection.

CHICAGO
A new vaccine showed promise at protecting young children from malaria, offering a potential new weapon against a disease that kills at least 1 million people each year, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

In a study of 100 West African children aged 1 to 6, the experimental vaccine produced immune responses similar to or even higher than those of adults infected by malaria all their lives.

The vaccine, which uses an immune system booster called an adjuvant from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc, targets the malaria parasite as it is actively infecting red blood cells and causing fever and illness.

NEWS: Army to build dormitory for blind, deaf in Jinja

2010-02-04T15:40:00.001-05:00

Army to build dormitory for blind, deaf in Jinja

Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 (from NEW VISION ONLINE)

By Donald Kiirya

THE army will construct a sh30m dormitory block at Spire Road School for the blind and deaf in Jinja district. The project will start this month. The dormitory that will house 30 pupils is one of the army’s projects to mark the Terehe Sita day. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, the defence minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, said: “Celebrations of the 29th army day will take place on February 6. During the week before the celebrations, soldiers engage in development activities and projects for the communities.” He said the army was in Busoga to explain its achievements in the course of the year, find out whether the people were happy with it and make sure that the people develop. Engineer Lt. Col. Besigye Bekunda said the dormitory, which will be constructed by the army’s engineering brigade, will include a rain water harvest system, which will be completed within one month. Brig. Samuel Lwanga, the deputy chief of medical services, said 15 pupils from the school with simple eye disabilities will also be treated at the eye clinic in Iganga. The army is carrying out similar community activities in the districts of Jinja, Iganga, Bugiri, Namutumba, Kaliro, Kamuli and Mayuge.

NEWS: VP commissions modern virus labs

2010-02-04T15:36:00.001-05:00

VP commissions modern virus labs

Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 (NEW VISION ONLINE)

Bukenya commissioning the laboratories at Entebbe yesterday

By Andante Okanya

THE Vice-President, Dr. Gilbert Bukenya, on Tuesday commissioned modern laboratories at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. The laboratories will be used to carry out scientific research and clinical studies. They will also be used for trials on vaccines for HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. The institute has previously made great breakthroughs in scientific research. It was the first to isolate more than 20 new airborne viruses, including the West Nile Virus, Bwamba Fever, Semliki Forest Virus, Orungo and Kadam. The fully-equipped laboratories were set up with funding from the British government. Speaking at the ceremony, Bukenya urged Ugandans to stick to the ABC strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He said those agitating for the removal of the C (condom) are enemies in the fight against the deadly virus. “ABC strategy is to save lives. It is not religious. Those who say remove the C are not serious,” Bukenya said. James Kakooza, the state minister for primary health care, reassured health workers that the Government will ensure that they are paid according to international standards starting this year. The British High Commisioner to Uganda, Martin Shearman, revealed that his Government would support the Medical Research Council until 2019. An estimated 1.4 million people are currently living with AIDS in Uganda, with an annual infection rate of 130,000 people.

NEWS: HIV researchers target an African-focused agenda

2010-01-25T10:13:00.002-05:00

HIV researchers target an African-focused agenda

from NEW VISION ONLINE
Sunday, 24th January, 2010

Students interact with Scientists at UVRI. The centre hopes to train future scientists to help fight the disease

By Gladys Kalibbala

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed to change the time when people living with HIV start on ARVs. Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, the director of Uganda Aids Commission, says WHO recommends that people living with HIV start on ARVs when their CD4 count is below 350 and not 250 as has been the case. “This means about 700,000 people will be eligible for the drugs which we cannot afford,” he explained. Kihumuro was speaking at the recently concluded 5th African Aids Vaccine Programme (AAVP) conference at Serena Hotel in Kampala. He said, currently, of the 400,000 people in Uganda who require ARVs, only 191,500 access them. Kihumuro said: “This is a big challenge on the African continent and we need a vaccine to be found urgently.” Participants at the conference noted that Africans needed to take advantage of the AAVP Secretariat’s shift to Uganda to concentrate on finding an AIDS vaccine and reduce the spread of the disease on the continent. The headquarters of AAVP which have been based in Geneva since 2000 will soon be transferred to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe. Uganda beat Botswana and South Africa to host the organisation. Uganda was selected because of the Government’s commitment and the good research environment. AAVP is a network of African HIV vaccine stakeholders led by Africans across the continent, with a vision for an AIDS-free Africa. It was created with the specific intention of mobilising support and advocating a more African-focused vaccine agenda. The programme intends to involve Africans in the development of the vaccine supported by WHO and United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). During the conference, it was noted that the AIDS pandemic continues to be the most serious public health challenge facing the world today, with Africa having the highest infections with unprecedented medical and socio-economic consequences. “The best hope to end the AIDS pandemic remains in the development of an effective HIV vaccine and its distribution to all communities,” said Dr. Ponsiano Kaleebu, the acting director of UVRI. He says 30 years after the first cases of AIDS were reported and HIV identified as a the cause, Africa, with only 10% of the world’s population, is home to more than 65% of the 33 million people living with AIDS worldwide. Researchers say the annual rate of new infections continues to rise. For instance, in 2007, about 2.5 million people were infected. According to the 2006 UNAIDS report, about 40 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, 62% of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report adds that about 25 million people have so far died worldwide as the infection rate increases to an estimated 4.3 million people annually. However, only about one million HIV-infected people currently receive antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. “This shows that treatment alone cannot help, we need a vaccine to halt the spread,” Dr Sam Okware, the commissioner for health services at the health ministry observes. He adds that developing an effective HIV vaccine is the greatest challenge in biomedical research. Prof. Fred Wabwire of Makerere University Walter Reed Project noted that many women drop out of the vaccine trials and called for their participation. “It will be unfortunate if we come up with a vaccine which works for men without knowledge of how it works for women,” he said. The researchers urged African leaders to embrace the programme by showing their support through funding. Jeannette Kagame, the First Lady of Rwanda, was appointed AAVP’s ambassador and will represent the association at various meetings and policy forums. Kagame urged leaders to raise an awareness of Africa’s concerns at the international level and stop downplaying the gravity of the pandemic since this may hinder the vaccine’s development process. Likewise, Janet Museveni, the First Lady of Uganda, called for other preventive measures alongside the ABC (abstinence, be faithful and condom use) strategy if the pandemic is to be curbed. There was also a call to control TB which has become more challenging. It was noted that the existing BCG vaccine is ineffective against the disease and poses risks in HIV-infected children. There was also a call to control TB which has become a challenge with the emergency of multi-drug resistant strains, especially in people living with HIV. Researchers highlighted the need for boosting BCG vaccine to meet this challenge

NEWS: Alcoholism is on the increase in Uganda and needs to be curbed

2010-01-06T00:11:00.001-05:00

Alcoholism is on the increase in Uganda and needs to be curbed

There are growing concerns among health workers over Ugandans’ drinking patterns. Surveys have shown an alarming rate of alcohol consumption across the country, writes Egan Tabaro.
“I had never lived on my own before and this school had so much freedom and this was the time I was discovering myself,” he says. In his S.2, he joined the school’s Scripture Union, where he prayed and studied the Bible as he often did at home.

Soon, he made new friends and together, they would sneak out of school, mostly to watch a movie and eat roast pork in Mbarara Town and have a drink in the name of “experimenting”. By S.4, he had begun to drink regularly as he had both the company and money for it. For his A’levels, he joined Greenhill Academy, an elite day school in Kampala. His drinking continued and he often sneaked alcohol in sachets into school but still managed to perform well enough in class to escape notice from his teachers and parents.

In his S.6 vacation, Bosco broke up with his girlfriend. He was devastated and it was then that he says he lost control over his drinking. He was drinking daily and quite heavily and one time drank himself into a coma before he was admitted to a hospital. “But I still didn’t realiseI was a rehab case,” Mugisha says, adding that he was in denial. What followed then was a two-month dry spell (in which he didn’t take alcohol) but this didn’t last. when he joined university, the drinking started all over again.

For him, university life was one long party - more drinking, more girls, and more beers. He often got into bar brawls and was twice locked up by police for violent behaviour. He suffered blackouts from binge drinking and even stole from family, friends and his girlfriends to finance his habit. His drinking changed his personality and an otherwise amiable fellow soon became rude, arrogant and distant. “Alcohol dehumanised me completely,” he says. Soon, he was unable to sit tests and exams at university and his parents often took him in and out of rehab. He dropped out of university. He had hit rock bottom. Now, as he nurses an injury sustained from a drunken fall, he has been sober for four months and is now born again. “The compassion of people around me, my involvement with Victory Rehabilitation Centre, Salongo Kanda Road, Bweyogerere Kampala and my faith in Christ have helped me remain sober,” he says.

The facts and statistics

Alcoholism is a chronic disease marked by a craving for alcohol; people who suffer from it, known as alcoholics, can’t control their drinking even when it becomes the underlying cause of serious harm including medical disorders, marital difficulties, job loss or car accidents. People tend to equate any kind of excessive drinking to alcoholism but doctors and scientists prefer to use the term alcohol dependence instead of alcoholism to designate less severe disorders resulting from immoderate drinking.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 140 million people (approximately two per cent) suffer from alcohol related disorders. A WHO Global Status report on alcohol estimates that Ugandans consume an average 19.4 litres of alcohol per capita annually. A Ministry of Health baseline survey of 14 districts found the mean prevalence of alcohol abuse to be 17.4 per cent while surveys from hospital admissions found that up to 20 per cent of the cases are alcohol related.

According to psychiatrist Dr David Basangwa of Butabika Hospital, the average first age of drinking in Uganda is 10 to12 years and that 60 per cent of those who seek treatment at Butabika’s Alcohol and Drug Unit are aged 13 to 21. Research has shown that people who drink before the age of 15 are more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who delay their first drink to 21 years.

There are an estimated 26 registered breweries licensed to operate in Uganda although most of the alcohol consumed is produced informally in homes or from unregistered small scale distillers and brewers, making it difficult for authorities to regulate alcohol production, sale and consumption in the country.

Scientists have not identified a typical alcoholic personality, and they can’t predict with certainty which drinkers will progress to alcoholism. Statistics show that alcoholism affects a broad cross-section of society around the world, from labourers, homemakers, successful business executives and academics to church members of all denominations. Scientists cannot point out any single cause of alcoholism but research suggests that genetic, psychological and social factors influence its development.

Studies show that alcoholism runs in families - alcoholics are six times more likely than non-alcoholics to have blood relatives who are alcohol dependent. Research conducted in twins showed that patterns of alcoholism differed among identical twins who share identical genes and fraternal twins, who are genetically different. If one twin becomes alcohol-dependent, an identical twin is more likely to develop alcohol dependence than a fraternal one.

Environmental factors that may affect the development of the disease include personal
behavioural skills, peer influences early in life, parental behaviour, societal and cultural attitudes toward alcohol use and availability of alcohol beverages. It is argued that once a person has established a drinking pattern, environmental factors combined with physical changes induced by heavy drinking may reinforce the continued use of alcohol.

NEWS: Uganda stamps out Guinea worm disease

2010-01-06T00:05:00.003-05:00

Uganda stamps out Guinea worm disease

from the DAILY MONITOR

Since 1991, Uganda has been campaigning to eradicate the Guinea worm. 18 years later, the ancient parasitic disease has been completely eliminated from the country, according to the World Health Organisation, making it the second major disease after smallpox to be wiped out.Guinea worm disease which is scientifically called dracunculiasis is a parasitic worm infection that has been endemic in African countries such as Uganda, South Sudan, Mali, Ghana and Nigeria. Health experts say the eradication of the disease will contribute to the reduction of the huge disease burden that the country still faces.

Costly parasite

According to Dr John Bosco Rwakimari, a former national coordinator for the Guinea worm eradication programme, treating the disease was costing the country up to $20m annually. “When we started interventions to fight the disease, we were spending $15m annually. In 1995, we intensified our campaign, drilling more than 2,000 at a cost of Shs15m in the affected areas,” Dr Rwakimari said.Dr Peter Langi, the coordinator of the Uganda Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (UGWEP) said although the worm rarely kills, blisters that occur from the effects of the worm can result in secondary infections including long term disability. People get infected when they drink water containing flea that is infected with the larvae of the Guinea worm.

Worm symptoms

When in the body, the larvae matures and grows as long as three feet, and after one year, it emerges through a painful cancerous blister in the skin, causing long term pain and suffering.“It starts with a swelling, then itching and a blister before the worm comes out. To get the worm out, you get a small piece of stick and roll the worm slowly out of the blister,” he explains.Dr Langi said that while the process of removing the worm is easy, complications can sometimes arise when it breaks into two and fails to come out. “Victims should not dare to speed the process of pulling out the worm because it may snap into two and the part left inside can cause permanent deformities,” he said.To stop its spread, health workers teach affected people to stay away from contaminated water supplies. Water filters have also been distributed to the communities to be used to block water fleas from water sources. This is largely the strategy that has been used to eradicate the disease.Dr Langi said in 1991, there were 126,369 cases of guinea worm reported in Uganda. The most endemic areas were Arua, Moyo, Kitgum, Kotido and Moroto.But these figures continued reducing until they reached 316 by 1999 and to single digits by 2002. In the last six years, starting in 2004, no single worm was found to have infected a person, thus clearing the country of the disease.

“When the survey was done , we found that most of the heavily affected areas had low water coverage and the people who had the disease were not seeking medical treatment and because they kept using the same contaminated water sources, they were repeatedly infected,’’ Dr Langi said.

NEWS:Uganda to start aerial spraying of tsetse flies

2009-09-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

Uganda to start aerial spraying of tsetse flies

Monday, 21st September, 2009 from NEW VISION

UGANDA is to start aerial spraying to eradicate tsetse flies, which cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. Uganda is one of the 37 sub-Sahara African countries infested with tsetse flies. Two-thirds of the country is affected, putting about nine million people at risk of contracting sleeping sickness. About 700 new cases are reported annually. Also, 70% of Uganda’s national herd is at risk of contracting nagana. Agriculture minister Hope Mwesigye said aerial spraying would be carried out in the south-eastern and north-western regions, which are heavily-infested with three major tsetse fly species which cause an acute form of sleeping sickness, as well as another chronic form of the disease. “We have been having many interventions such as tsetse traps, but we are now looking at spraying, which is an area-wide approach. The tsetse flies keep coming from the game parks, so aerial spraying will eradicate sleeping sickness and nagana. The chemical does not affect humans,” Mwesigye said. She called for investment in research and the development of more effective drugs against sleeping sickness and nagana. “There is no vaccine against this disease and no new drugs are being developed. Currently, there is also a limited range of drugs. These drugs are highly toxic and increasingly becoming ineffective due to drug resistance.” Mwesigye was addressing the 30th international scientific council for trypanosomiasis research and control conference at Speke Resort, Munyonyo yesterday. The minister, however, did not disclose the amount of funds that will be involved in the programme or when it would start. She noted that the programme is in its initial stages and a technical team is jointly being put in place by the health and animal husbandry ministries. The districts infested with tsetse flies include Mukono, Kayunga, Jinja, Kamuli, Bugiri, Kaliro, Busia, Mayuge, Iganga, Pallisa, Soroti, Tororo, Dokolo, Lira, Kaberamaido, Kalangala and Namutumba. Others are Adjumani, Koboko, Arua, Moyo, Maracha-Terego, Yumbe and Amuru. President Yoweri Museveni, in a speech read by second deputy premier Eriya Kategaya, said Africa is lagging behind in development due to the high burden of preventable diseases. He said Uganda had developed a national programme to eliminate tsetse flies.

NEWS: Cerebral Malaria- Shortage of drugs increases infections

2009-09-10T21:15:00.002-04:00

Cerebral Malaria- Shortage of drugs increases infections

Sunday, 6th September, 2009 from NEW VISION

In the past six months, Uganda has seen an increase in cerebral malaria cases, which experts at the Malaria Consortium, an international organisation that controls the disease at all levels, are attributing to a shortage of malaria drugs throughout the country. The Consortium blames the shortage of drugs on poor planning and the stalling of the Global Fund disbursement that was effected early last year. However, when approached, the health ministry officials declined to comment. According to Daniel Kyabiirize, an epidemiologist at the Malaria Consortium, Uganda has over 300,000 cases of malaria a year, and 25% progress to cerebral malaria. Cerebral malaria is a complication of a type of malaria parasite called plasmodium falciparium. It is a more advanced and dangerous form of malaria. It causes neurological disorders and can also lead to death. This condition occurs when malaria goes untreated. Patients experience symptoms between 10 and 35 days after the mosquito bite. The parasites multiply in the body’s blood cells and block the blood’s pathway. This leads to a shortage of oxygen and nutrients in the brain, causing neurological disorders and death. Symptoms Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, drowsiness, unconsciousness, seizures, delirium and confusion. One in nine patients who survive cerebral malaria develops epilepsy. Although 50% of epilepsy cases have had no malaria, the disease is linked to cerebral malaria, especially among children. “Because of the brain involvement with cerebral malaria, patients sometimes get convulsions or seizures,” says David Basangwa, a psychologist at Butabika Hospital. In most cases, epileptic patients seek the help of traditional healers, believing that the disease has spiritual causes. Though medication that helps reduce seizures is prescribed in health centres, it has side effects like drowsiness which interferes with other medications. Dr. Richard Idro, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital, says cerebral malaria causes serious neurological problems, such as cerebral palsy, learning problems, hyperactivity, as well as blindness and hearing problems. Who is at risk? Children, visitors from non-malaria endemic areas, women in their first pregnancies, and people who live in Kabale and the highlands are susceptible. During the first six months of a child’s life, a baby retains antibodies from its mother, who has some resistance to malaria. But these soon wear off. The child is unprotected and can easily develop malaria infections until they develop immunity. A major challenge that Uganda faces is the shortage of neurologists to handle the consequences of severe malaria. Most specialists are based in Mulago, and Mbarara hospitals or the Kampala-based Butabika hospital. “This has led to a current increase in mental illness and disease,” says Kyabirize. Curbing the condition Treatment aught to be within 24 hours of experiencing fever. The Ministry of Health recommends treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria infection. Spraying of chemicals in homes has also helped reduce the rates of malaria infection. Get rid of latent containers of water where mosquitoes might breed. Cases of the disease in Uganda 25% of cases are cerebral, a dangerous form of malaria Of the 300,000 malaria cases a year, 75,000 are cerebral Dangers of cerebral malaria Death:15-20% of children die Epilepsy Blindness, deafness Neurological disorders Learning problems

NEWS: Typhoid kills 20 in Bukwo

2009-08-17T08:23:00.000-04:00

Typhoid kills 20 in Bukwo

from MONITOR online August 17, 2009

BukwoDespite efforts by the government to combat typhoid in Bukwo District, fresh reports indicate that the disease is still spreading in the district and that at least 20 people have succumbed to it.The Ministry of Health Field Epidemiologist, Dr Luswa Lukwago, who has been on research and surveillance in the district, confirmed to Daily Monitor the new development on the epidemic.He said: “Over 20 people have been reported dead and on average every family has about four cases.” “Although we have treated the disease, recent research and surveillance indicates that the disease is still in Suam, Kapkorosoy, Kapkuripson and Kabei sub-counties,” he added.Dr Lukwago said this after making a presentation of the disease status report to the district team on Wednesday.He said many cases never receive adequate treatment and others who fled to Kenya came back.“We have been treating patients using chlorampheonical and ceftraxone but the two drugs ran out of stock, forcing many to seek traditional means,” he said.Dr Lukwago said the poor latrine distribution in the district and the free movement across the border points between Uganda and Kenya is responsible for the disease spread in the wake of shortage of drugs.Bukwo has 57 per cent latrine coverage in the district and most of them are open structures that leave the human waste exposed.Also about 400 cases are believed to have fled to Kenya after the disease broke out in the villages surrounding River Bukwo and are now returning.He revealed that because many people died without getting medical attention, they have lost faith in the local health system and have now turned to Kenya where they believe they will receive better medical services.The World Health Organisation Public Health Specialist, Dr Mary Amongin, confirmed the disease is still spreading in Bukwo, claiming about 22 people and leaving about 32 bed-ridden in Bukwo Health Centre.

N EWS: NDA bans use of Metakeflin to treat Malaria

2009-08-17T08:20:00.001-04:00

NDA bans use of Metakeflin to treat Malaria

from MONITOR online 8/17/09

National Drug Authority (NDA) Executive Secretary, Apollo Muhairwe with the banned Metakelfin at NDA offices. Muhairwe urged patients not to buy Metakelfin for any therapeutic purposes. Photo by Nelson Wesonga

The National Drug Authority (NDA), the national drug regulator, has banned the use of Metakeflin tablets which are used to treat malaria.Addressing a press conference today morning at the NDA offices in Kampala, the regulator’s Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Muhairwe said this follows a change in the Malaria Treatment Policy by the Ministry of Health in which Artemisinin based Combination Therapies (ACTs) were adopted as first line treatment for uncomplicated malaria.“Thus, all antimalarials that do not contain ACTs were phased out in that regard, in order to curb the emerging resistance amongst the available ant malarial drugs,” Mr Muhairwe said.Mr Muhairwe told journalists that NDA stopped the importation of Metakelfin (sulphurmethoxypyrazin/pyrimethamine) in May last year. Mr Muhairwe also showed journalists some of the tablets that were seized after they discovered they found their way into the country through unscrupulous means. Out of every 15 batches, 10 of them were counterfeit.All drug stores have been asked to surrender all the stocks of Metakelfin to the drugs authority.

NEWS: Jinja man dies after taking expired drugs

2009-08-07T09:24:00.001-04:00

Jinja man dies after taking expired drugs

August 7, 2009 from MONITOR online

JinjaOne man has died and another is in critical condition after taking suspected expired drugs in Jinja. Bonny Ojede, a resident of Jinja Town, died on Tuesday at Jinja Hospital after almost all the skin had peeled off his body in spite of all efforts by the medical staff to save his life.The Nursing Officer in charge of Ward Four, Ms Mebra Namaganda, told Daily Monitor on Wednesday that Ojede was admitted at the hospital two weeks ago after he had undergone self medication against malaria with unknown drugs that he had bought from a local drug shop yet to be established. Ojede was buried yesterday at Ayeri Sub-county in Apac District.Another patient is in critical condition from a similar cause. Mr Samuel Mukisa of Ibulanku Sub-county in Iganga District, is still undergoing treatment at the same hospital but Ms Namaganda said his condition is still critical. He is also suspected to have taken expired drugs from a local drug store. According to Jinja Hospital staff, Mr Mukisa’s condition has continued to be worrying because his skin continues to peel off despite all the medication that has been administered to him. Ms Namaganda said although the cause has not yet been established, poisoning arising from the consumption of expired drugs cannot at the moment be completely ruled out.Mr Mukisa’s wife, Esther Namaganda, a teacher at Nakalama Muslim Primary School, said since she does not stay with her husband, a teacher at Nakivumbi Nursery and Primary School, she was not there when he took the drugs but found some in the house the next day.“When I was called the next day, I found Herpex, Coartem and Panadol tablets in the house,” she said. She said her husband told her that he had bought the drugs from a local drug shop after developing a cold and used them as per the prescription given by the person who sold them to him.She tearfully narrated that just after one day, her husband had developed blisters all over the body and he could not see properly. “We first went to Iganga Hospital from where we were referred here (Jinja Hospital) where he has undergone treatment for the past two weeks,” she said.

NEWS: Drought bites northern Uganda

2009-07-15T22:49:00.000-04:00

Drought bites northern Uganda

from MONITOR ONLINE

GuluFollowing a lull in war in northern Uganda in the last three years, Mr Nicholas Obita returned to his village in Bwobo, Manun Parish, Alero Sub-county in Amuru District. A place he considers a safe haven because of its fertile soils.Like many farmers, Mr Obita embarked on agriculture both for consumption and commercial purposes with hope of getting a good harvest.However, the peaceful sanctuary has turned into the scene of catastrophe as he watches his crops waste away due to drought.“Three months ago, I hired a tractor and opened up over 15 acres for different crops. I planted maize in an eight- acre piece of land and I was expecting to get over 200 bags but the rain has let me down. I am headed for a total loss,” Mr Obita says.He says the wet season that usually lasts between March and June disappeared too soon and the rain was too little to sustain the crops. Mr Obita is one of the farmers in northern Uganda who were determined to forget about squalid living conditions they experienced in camps and concentrate on farming.Their dreams of having a good harvest are fading away as the drought continues to bite hard. Mr Albert Okwera, a lead farmer in Pawel Parish in Gulu District, said the dry spell has destroyed 120 acres of crops. He says last year he earned Shs6 million from the sale of sweet potatoes but that might not be possible this year. “I decided to increase the acres and planted more crops this year. I was hoping to get a good harvest and earn more money. The rice that I planted three months ago has failed to grow,” he explained. Gulu Resident District Commissioner Walter Ochora, who is a commercial farmer in Amuru District, is also feeling the pinch of the dry spell. He says the sun has destroyed his 100 acres of maize crop.Mr Ochora says it is important that farmers resort to planting perennial crops like cow peas, which are drought resistant to minimise vulnerability in case of a crisis like the current one which is causing distress in many parts of the country.Ms Christine Aber, who belongs to a farmers’ group in Kitgum District, says at the beginning of the year the group planted over 10 acres of groundnuts but the crops have succumbed to the scorching sun. “My children are starving, I sell charcoal to buy food, if people don’t buy the charcoal I don’t get money for food,” she says. This nightmare scenario is the reality for farmers of northern Uganda.Climate change is bringing huge challenges. In a bid to address the challenge the Agriculture and Fisheries State Minister, Mr Fred Mukisa, says the government has allocated Shs5 billion for the development of irrigation schemes in selected parts of the country.Mr Mukisa explains that the project, which comes at a time when many parts of the country are experiencing drought because of climatic changes, is expected to benefit farmers in rural areas across the country.

NEWS: Food shortage hits 52 districts

2009-07-15T22:46:00.002-04:00

Food shortage hits 52 districts
Wednesday, 15th July, 2009

SEVENTEEN districts in the north and northeastern Uganda are experiencing famine, the Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, told Parliament yesterday. He said 52 districts countrywide were faced with food insecurity. Nsibambi categorised the food crisis in three levels; famine, acute food shortage and moderate food shortage. He was contributing to the debate on the recent State of the Nation address by President Museveni. Famine, he said, was being experienced in Amuria, Katakwi, Kaberamaido, Bukedea, Kumi, Soroti, Bukwo, Adjumani, Arua, Koboko, Moyo, Yumbe, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, Nakapiripirit and Abim. The Prime Minister told the House presided over by the deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, that acute food shortage was being experienced in 31 districts, while four districts faced moderate food shortage. He named persistent poor agricultural performance in Karamoja, the continued stay of people in internally displaced person’s camps in Acholi and Adjumani, the impact of the 2007 floods in Teso and dry conditions along the cattle corridor as the major causes. Nsibambi said the Government released sh10b in June and another sh10b for food relief. He added that the department of relief and disaster preparedness and refugees needed an additional sh30b to alleviate the situation. Nsibambi pointed out that the National Agricultural Advisory Services was distributing free maize, sorghum seeds, cassava cuttings and farming implements, including hand hoes and fertilisers, to the affected households. He noted the need to shift from reliance on rain-fed agriculture to irrigation and tapping gravitational water from Sipi falls off Mt. Elgon for irrigation in Teso and Karamoja. He announced that sh5b had been allocated for irrigation systems and that $100m (about sh200b) was being secured from the Islamic Bank to support the scheme. Nsibambi said the Cabinet, chaired by President Museveni, had on Wednesday deliberated on the food security issues. “I have requested the Minister of Local Government to use Section 95 of the Local Government Act to direct districts to make ordinances (bye-laws) which will compel homesteads to maintain granaries for food storage,” he stated. He said climate change, increasing occurrences of extreme weather and climate variability like droughts, floods, hailstorms, heat waves were caused by an accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Seasons, he said, had become erratic and difficult to predict. “While advancement in technology had made it possible to predict climate six months in advance, it is still difficult to predict the distribution of rainfall over seasons,” he said. In Uganda, the rainy season had not performed according to the forecasts, Nsibambi added. He noted that security situation in the north and north eastern Uganda had normalised.

NEWS: Arua in plague outbreak alert

2009-07-15T00:23:00.001-04:00

Arua in plague outbreak alert

from MONITOR ONLINE

The community in Arua District has been put on high alert over an outbreak of a deadly bubonic plague disease that killed 17 people last year. In this regard, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Arua health team launched a campaign on Friday to sensitise the community on causes, signs and symptoms and prevention of the deadly disease. The District Health Officer, Dr Patrick Anguzu, said the campaign is a precautionary measure in case of any outbreak. “Our community must keep their environment clean especially the houses because the rats that transmit the disease thrive in unclean environment.” In bubonic plague, the most common form, bacteria infects the lymph system and becomes inflamed. The lymph or lymphatic system is a major component of the body’s immune system. Dr Anguzu told Daily Monitor that no new case of the disease has yet been reported in the district this year. Last years’ statistics from Arua health office indicate that 73 cases of human infections and 17 deaths were reported, the highest figure in two years. Dr Anguzu added that 29 cases have since been confirmed to be of bubonic strain. “This is the season that we highly suspect the outbreak of the disease. So we need to keep the community on alert,” he added. Within three to seven days of exposure to the plague bacteria, a person develops flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, chills, weakness, and swollen, tender lymph glands. The community sensitisation campaign is being carried out in the disease prone areas of Vurra and Logiri. But even then, the surrounding area of Kango Sub-county in Nebbi, which borders Logiri, must not be left out. Historically, the bubonic plague is reported to have originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo especially from Aru and Ariwara. The campaign, Dr Anguzu said, is aimed at educating residents who keep pets like cats, which are also susceptible to plague. In this case, infected cats become sick and may directly transmit plague to people who handle or care for them.

NEWS: Uganda Heart Institute becomes independent

2009-07-15T00:21:00.000-04:00

Uganda Heart Institute becomes independent

from MONITOR ONLINE

A 40-bed in-patient heart institute, to engage in preventive, curative, educational, rehabilitation and research activities on cardiac diseases has been opened in Mulago Hospital.
The Uganda Heart Institute, which boosts a 12- bed intensive care unit, has been curved out of the hospital.

According to Dr John Omagino, the director of the institute, important aspects like specific training to become a cardiac surgeon and promotional benefits which were ignored while still under Mulago, are to be considered. The institute will offer diagnostic services, surgery and training of staff from different institutions like Makerere University, Kampala International and Nsambya hospitals among others.

On average, it receives 100 patients a day. Though the institute had always been carrying out different types of surgeries, it received public recognition in 2007 after a successful open heart surgery that saw the President Museveni visit it. Last month, the institute carried out the successful heart operation of 102-year-old Ssebowa.

An open heart surgery is between $500-700 (about Shs1 million – Shs 1.5 million) while a closed one is $1,500 (about Shs3 million). Though it has become a separate entity, Dr Omagino assures of its continued relationship with Mulago Hospital.

NEWS: Amuru grapples with doctor shortage

2009-07-15T00:19:00.000-04:00

Amuru grapples with doctor shortage

from MONITOR ONLINE

All through the peak of insurgency in northern Uganda, Esther Achen, 54, spent two decades in Amuru District, the epicentre of armed conflict, serving as a midwife at Anaka Hospital. Ms Achen, who comes from the neighbouring Lango sub-region in Apac District, persevered and did not quit her job, risking possible abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels. Her motivation was to serve fellow displaced persons, the poor and helpless, who did not have any other specialised medical worker to attend to them, or had difficulty accessing a doctor while in the camps.Unfortunately, she suffered a severe stroke in 2001 while at the hospital attending to patients. The stroke paralysed both her limbs, leaving her physically impaired.Knowing she would not even get much help at her home in Apac, due to poor health services, Ms Achen preferred to stay at Anaka Hospital where she is well known and could access some medical help. “My mother is too old to take care of me, and my sisters have all died. I prefer here because my husband has been supportive,” she says.To keep alive, the retired midwife needs the attention and support of a specialist in physiotherapy. However, Amuru District Health Officer (DHO) is worried that doctors to attend to patients like Ms Achen are lacking in the district.Other than people who suffer strokes, the over two decades armed conflict in the region has created unprecedented levels of trauma, but like in the case of Ms Achen, these people need more doctors and physiotherapists.The officer in charge of physiotherapy department at Anaka Hospital, Mr Paul Otit, said last week during the hand over of orthopedic equipment worth Shs25 million that more patients are reporting to the hospital. “We have been receiving 20-30 patients on a monthly basis,” he said.Mr Otit observed that more women in the district were suffering physical impairment compared to men because of the heavy domestic work women are subjected to. “Heavy workload without enough rest, has made many women become victims of impairment,” he explained.Amuru DHO, Dr Patrick Odong Olwedo said:“Medical personnel remains a challenge in the hospital, we urge the Ministry of Health for support.” He said Amuru has only one psychotherapist instead of four, and one doctor instead of six.

NEWS: Cholera kills two in Busia

2009-07-15T00:18:00.000-04:00

Cholera kills two in Busia

from MONITOR ONLINE

Two people in Busia have died of cholera. Four others are undergoing treatment at Busia Red Cross Health Unit IV, Daily Monitor has learnt.One of the deceased was identified as Ibrahim Ojuku, who died on July 10. The other who was not be identified by press time reportedly died at Majengo Private Clinic in Busia. Officials at the clinic denied the death claims but eye witnesses confirmed it to Daily Monitor.The District Health Officer, Dr Oundo Bwire, confirmed the outbreak of the disease over the weekend. Dr Bwire said specimen have been taken to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital for examination.The officer- in-charge of the Red Cross Health Centre IV, Mr Wabwire Omolo named those undergoing treatment as Thabe Nambozo, a student of Manafa Secondary School in Manafwa District and Joyce Phiant, a student of St. John Secondary School in Busia. Others are Florence Akumu, Wycliffe Lubezi and one called Kafiri. Mr Omolo said the affected areas are Arubaine, Nangwe, Custom, villages,all in Busia Town Council. Mr Wabwire said although the conditions of the patients have improved, they cannot be discharged for fear that they will spread the disease.Residents accused town council authorities of failure to collect garbage, leading to the spread of the disease. However, the mayor, Mr Michael Mugeni, denied the accusations, saying he had improved hygiene in the town, which according to him was in a poor state when he came to office.

NEWS: Teso leaders ask government for more food relief

2009-07-15T00:16:00.000-04:00

Teso leaders ask government for more food relief

Leaders in Teso sub-region, which is currently experiencing famine, have appealed for more food aid as hunger stalks more people.

During celebrations to mark the World Population Day over the weekend in Katakwi, one of the districts worst-hit by the famine, the district chairperson, Mr Robert Ekongot, said the situation was not getting any better. “What we need at this material point in time is more emergency food relief to save the population from hunger,” he said.

According to Mr Ekongot, the food insecurity in the region has largely been a result of external factors and not laziness as has been indicated by some leaders.

Although the government has responded by allocating Shs20 billion to buy relief food, it says it will need up to Shs170 billion to feed the most vulnerable people.

Mr Ekongot said the government should instead invest in long term solutions to address the situation including setting up irrigation schemes that will improve agricultural production even in times of drought.

The World Population Day was marked under the theme, “Empowering Communities to Overcome the Challenges of Poverty.’’ The acting Director of the Population Secretariat, Mr Charles Zirarema, said the celebrations were taken to Katakwi District to raise awareness about poverty that is rife in Teso region.

On Monday, Amuria District chairperson Julius Ochen told Daily Monitor that the situation was still grim as food aid that was delivered has not reached all sub-counties. As a result, he said, most families had resorted to eating wild leaves which are also posing a health threat.

“We visited Ajel village in Acowa Sub-county where we found some families had developed running stomachs after eating some wild leaves,” Mr Ochen said. He said children and women are particularly more vulnerable to the famine which has so far claimed 12 lives in the region since May.

According to Mr Ochen, the 200 bags of maize grain given to each sub-county is not enough to meet the food needs of the people. “This food aid can only last a few days before it gets finished. The government needs to come up with a way of increasing the food ration given to the residents,” he said.

N EWS: Hepatitis E deaths, infections increase

2009-07-15T00:14:00.001-04:00

Hepatitis E deaths, infections increase

from MONITOR ONLINE

Two more people at the close of last week died of the Hepatitis E virus in Kitgum District, the weekly surveillance report has revealed. The development brings the cumulative number of deaths to 162 since the epidemic broke out in October 2007.

The District Surveillance Officer, Mr Obote M. Odwar told Daily Monitor yesterday that 47 people acquired Hepatitis E last week compared to 24 in the previous week.

“The total number of cases of Hepatitis E virus comes to 10,243 since the onset of the epidemic in October 2007 and of the established deaths, 72 per cent are females,” Mr Odwar said.

He added: “The most affected age group is that of between 20-24 years and of all the registered cases, 62 per cent are females.” Hardly a week ago, the government and the World Health Organisation launched a Shs10 billion programme to bring the epidemic to an end but this has not helped matters.

The WHO that has been supporting the district’s Hepatitis E taskforce, in its recent statements said there is a drastic decline in the infection rate in Kitgum, a report the authorities in the district dispute.

The report infact reveals that there was a 96 per cent increase of newly-registered cases during the week compared to 33 per cent in the previous week.

Sub-counties that registered the highest number of new cases are Lukung (8), Mucwini (6), Padibe West, Palabek Gem and Kitgum Matidi with 5 new cases each.

Mr John Odur, a resident of Kitgum Matidi, one of the sub-counties still prone to the disease, attributes the persistence of the epidemic to negligence.“The communities have turned a deaf ear to health messages and the leaders have also become relaxed in its fight,” Mr Odur observed.

Hepatitis E is an acute viral disease that can cause liver failure.The virus is transmitted to humans through consumption of drink or food contaminated with faecal matter. It can kill within a week if not controlled in time.

NEWS: Two million people at risk of starvation

2009-07-10T23:08:00.001-04:00

Two million people at risk of starvation

Friday, 10th July, 2009 from NEW VISION

OVER two million people in North, Eastern and West Nile are at risk of starvation, the Uganda Red Cross has announced. The agency yesterday stated that Kitgum, Katakwi, Bukedea, Kumi, Soroti, Amuria, Koboko, Adjumani, Nebbi, Arua and parts of Kibaale are the worst hit areas. Michael Nataka, the Uganda Red Cross secretary general, yesterday attributed the famine to prolonged draught, out of season planting, the ripple effect of the 2007 floods that ravaged Eastern Uganda and changes in weather patterns. The statement follows an evaluation tour of the affected areas. “In some areas where farmers planted early, the crops were thriving. But you find in the same village crops are withering in other gardens because people planted late,” Nataka stated. “The region has never recovered from the flooding, which affected the cycle of storing seeds. There is also lack of adequate information about the weather. People are relying on seasons that have since changed.” Children, elderly, sick and the children-headed households are the worst hit individuals, according to Nataka. Accordingly, the agency has launched an emergency appeal for sh5.6bn to feed 50,000 people. The Red Cross plans to raise 3030 metric tones of food to provide relief in the hunger-stricken areas. Well-wishers may deposit monies on Standard Chartered Bank account number 0108213406906 while others may contribute food in kind. The Red Cross, however, noted that the deaths recorded in the affected areas were not as a direct result of hunger. For example, in Adwari, Lira district six people who succumbed to HIV/AIDS and another four who died of old age had been attributed to hunger. The URCS chairman, Tom Buruku disclosed that should the local appeal not hit the target, they would turn to international organizations and donors. Describing the appeal as a “fire-fighting approach”, he demanded that the Parliament discusses the National Disaster policy that was formulated last year. “There is a need for a long-term plan to address these issues,” he observed, adding that an appeal for funds would be needed every year if nothing was done. URCS, he added, had provided its store in Ntinda, a city suburb where the donations in kind would be stored before dispatch. Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Bildard Baguma said that they would first focus on the worst his areas before rolling out to other areas.

RESOURCE: In depth and fascinating account of Uganda's 20 year "forgotten war"

2009-07-07T23:15:00.005-04:00

FIRST KILL YOUR FAMILY

- Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army

by Peter Eichstaedt

"Richard Opio has neither the look of a cold-blooded killer nor the heart of one. Yet as his mother and father lay on the ground with their hands tied, Richard used the blunt end of an ax to crush their skulls. He was ordered to do this by a unit commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that has terrorized northern Uganda for twenty years. The memory racks Richard’s slender body as he wipes away tears.”

With these words, Peter Eichstaedt (a veteran journalist who has reported from locations worldwide, including Slovenia, Moldova, Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, and Uganda, and a former senior editor for Uganda Radio Network) begins his fascinating and heart wrenching account of Uganda's "forgotten war". For more than twenty years, beginning in the mid-1980s, the Lord’s Resistance Army has ravaged northern Uganda. Tens of thousands have been slaughtered, and thousands more mutilated and traumatized. At least 1.5 million people have been driven from a pastoral existence into the squalor of refugee camps.

The leader of the rebel army is the rarely seen Joseph Kony, a former witchdoctor and self-professed spirit medium who continues to evade justice and wield power from somewhere near the Congo~Sudan border. Kony claims he not only can predict the future but also can control the minds of his fighters. And control them he does: the Lord’s Resistance Army consists of children who are abducted from their homes under cover of night. As initiation, the boys are forced to commit atrocities—murdering their parents, friends, and relatives—and the kidnapped girls are forced into lives of sexual slavery and labor.

In order to help us understand these altrocities Eichstaedt goes into the war-torn villages and refugee camps, talking to former child soldiers, child “brides,” and other victims. He examines the cultlike convictions of the army; how a pervasive belief in witchcraft, the spirit world, and the supernatural gave rise to this and other deadly movements; and what the global community can do to bring peace and justice to the region. This insightful analysis delves into the war’s foundations and argues that, much like Rwanda’s genocide, international intervention is needed to stop Africa’s virulent cycle of violence.

Eichstaedt has spent over two years in Uganda and neighboring Congo and Sundan, speaking to many soldiers and victims, including young boys forced to fight, young girl “brides” forced into prostitution, and refugees held in detention camps. He also talks with local politicians (including the rebel militia that cloaks itself in Christian rhetoric) and with UN leaders trying to forge peace. There are several memoirs told from the point of view of child soldiers, but Eichstaedt’s broader, less-personal study offers another perspective. His blend of interviews with observation and analysis of political history, including comparisons between Uganda and neighboring Rwanda, Sudan, and Congo, raises the elemental questions: Why didn’t the world know or care about what was happening? Why do people rebel and how does rebellion get out of hand? And is the call for forgiveness merely a way to prevent reprisals?

Overall, I found this book a remarkable history of the LRA and an insightful look into the sociopolitical climate that both gath rise to Joseph Kony and still keeps him active. A very important historical and heartbreaking account - crucial in understanding some of the significant challenges that still lay ahead for Uganda.

(adapted from liner notes, personal thoughts, and publisher reviews)

"Heartfelt . . . A close analysis of [an] underreported crisis." —Publishers Weekly

"In-depth reporting . . . an intimate spin." —Kirkus Reviews

"You must read this powerful book. Peter Eichstaedt has given voice to the victims of the largely unheard-of tragedy of Uganda. This story calls out to our very humanity." —Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

"A book filled with haunting images that leave one groping for answers." —Mac Maharaj, South African author and activist

"This book is a call to action to help our brothers and sisters in Africa that we can no longer ignore." —John Dau, president, John Dau Sudan Foundation, and coauthor, God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir

"This fine firsthand account should be read by anyone seeking to grapple with the challenges of war and peace in coming decades." —Douglas Farah, author, Merchant of Death and Blood from StonesProduct Description

NEWS: Swine flu confirmed in Uganda

2009-07-04T22:00:00.001-04:00

Swine flu confirmed in Uganda

- from MONITOR ONLINE

Uganda’s first case of the H1N1 swine flu virus was confirmed Wednesday night in a 40-year-old man from the UK, the Ministry of Health announced Thursday.

The man arrived in Uganda on June 26, 2009 from London via Nairobi to Entebbe on Kenya Airways. He passed through the health checkpoint at the airport with no symptoms and proceeded to Kampala to visit Ugandan friends. He did not stay in a hotel.

After contracting flu symptoms, he was admitted to Entebbe Hospital where Wednesday night he was confirmed to have Influenza A (H1N1) by the health laboratories in Entebbe.

The patient has been isolated in Entebbe and is reported to be in good condition. Officials were not able to give more information about the man or his activities while in Kampala.

“The task force is ready and we are going to make sure that whatever cases are reported to us we can handle,” Mr James Kakooza, the State Minister for Primary Health Care, said yesterday.
The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the WHO has been working to prepare Uganda for the outbreak.

According to Mr Paul Kagwa, the assistant commissioner for health education and promotion, the country has been preparing for the virus for the past six monthsPassengers arriving at the Entebbe International Airport must pass through a special health screening before they proceed through immigration. The screening is a self-report questionnaire asking passengers where they are coming from and whether they have any flu symptoms.

When the man who is being kept at Entebbe Grade B Hospital arrived on the June 26, he had no symptoms and easily passed through the screening. The borders are also supposed to be carefully monitored, however, although Mr Kagwa told the Daily Monitor on Tuesday that all border points were being instructed to be “extra vigilant,” the first case seems to have caught the people manning them unaware.

An Akamba bus driver, who refused to be named for fear of being fired, told Daily Monitor that no health screening is taking place at the border. “No one is screened there, they only stamp the passport,” he said soon after arriving in Kampala yesterday morning from Kenya via the Busia border. Several others recently arrived in the country confirmed his report.

In response to the border situation, Mr Kakooza said the situation will be “beefed up.” “We are going to send another team to borders,” he said at a news conference at the media centre yesterday.

Dr Sam Okware, the director general of the Uganda National Health Research Organisation, said monitoring the entry points is not the most effective way to prevent the disease. He said individuals and communities themselves need to report outbreaks of the sickness.

Besides heightening surveillance around the country and promoting public awareness on the flu, the Ministry of Health and WHO have established a multi-sectoral National Task Force in recent months to coordinate all technical efforts and create strategies for preparedness and response.
Medicines (Tami Flu) for treatment are available in the country, laboratories have been strengthened so that they can undertake screening and diagnosis, and isolation facilities have been set up in Entebbe and Mulago hospitals, Mr Kakooza said yesterday. “Since its one case we have had now, I don’t think it has saturated all over,” Mr Kakooza told journalists.

Dr Saweka, the country representative of the World Health Organisation, warned against unnecessary panic. “Usually WHO does not recommend people going on the street with a mask,” he told journalists, adding that only those who are in contact with an H1N1 case need wear masks.

The H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as “swine flu,” is actually a type A influenza strain made up of a genetic combination of the swine, avian, and human influenza viruses. It is passed from human to human and cannot be gotten by eating pork as some suppose, Dr Okware said yesterday. “People should be encouraged to eat swine so that they can get their nutrition,” he said, laughing.

Kenya confirmed their first case of the H1N1 virus earlier this week in a British student who had travelled from Nairobi to Kisumu. “It seems Kisumu might already have 11 cases,” Dr Saweka said yesterday at the press conference. He later added that they are still waiting for final confirmation on those cases.

Until now, there were 96 confirmed cases across Africa, with Uganda now contributing the 97th. So far, none of these cases have been terminal. The Ministry of Health has urged the public to be vigilant and report any suspected cases.

NEWS: Govt names rebel collaborators

2009-07-04T21:57:00.001-04:00

Govt names rebel collaborators

Friday, 3rd July, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE Army yesterday released the names of people accused of establishing a rebel group, the Uganda Patriotic Front (UPF). The group is led by renowned medical doctor, Henry Obonyo, who lives in the United States and has a second home in the United Kingdom, the army said. The list includes Charles Lakony, who the army said authored the rebel group’s concept document. He is however said to be using the pseudo name Don King and lives in San Diego, United States. He is a PhD holder of Political Science. Another prominent name on the list is Dr. Charles Akena who lives in Canada and is said to be a key financier of UPF. He is very rich with strong business chains in the USA and Canada. Also on the list is Joshua Abonga Otukene, who reportedly uses a pseudo name, Rembo, and lives in San Diego, USA. He also has homes in Nairobi’s Jahamuri estates. Otukene is a former US marine, who has been supporting the Lord’s Resistance Army but on many occasions disagreed with Kony over how the warlord was conducting the war. He is said to have at one time proposed to the late Vincent Otti that he should join them in Garamba Forest, eastern DR Congo but LRA leaders refused. Fred Okullo Otim, a former US pilot who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada in the US, but hails from Lacor village, Gulu district, is another key name on the list. He was one the people whom Kony dismissed from the Juba peace talks. Alex Okot Langwen, son of the late Lt. Gen. Bazilio Okello, a former army commander under Tito Okello’s military junta in 1985, was recently arrested. The army said he had been the main UPF man on the ground, in charge of organising and recruiting. He was arrested in Lacor, Gulu and remanded in Luzira Prison. The army alleges that Okot was the one coordinating the activities between Gulu-Kampala and Nairobi. He is said to have recruited Onek-Mon, a UPDF soldier who is also a former LRA commander. Onek Adyanga, based in Canada, is the key UPF man who is reported to have been in Uganda between March and June 2009, recruiting for the group in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader district. Also mentioned is Lapwony Okwon, who is based in the UK. He hails from Gulu and has been developing a network for recruiting members for UPF. Also named is Chairman of the Acholi Community in the US, Dr. Ocan Lapit Otim, who lives in California. He is said to be a strong member and financier of the UPF. Maj. Oboke Okello Latigo, also known as Tool Box, lives in Nairobi and is reportedly coordinating activities of UPF in Kenya. “He normally directs people to approach former LRA rebels who are within the UPDF or those in the community and he talks to them on phone to encourage them,” read an intelligence brief. Other names on the list were Sande Angoma Okello from Namukora sub-county in Kitgum district, currently a PhD student at Lust International Development Metropolitan University, Birmingham, London. He is said to have co-edited the rebel group’s concept document. The list, released by army spokesperson Maj. Felix Kulayigye, also includes Dr Acan Lapit Oxim, currently living in California, USA and Lapwony Ocon, who lives in the UK, but hails from Gulu. According to security documents, the new rebel group was formed in mid 2007. It was originally named the Uganda Patriotic Front (UPF) and later renamed Popular Patriotic Front (PPF). The founder members consist of former LRA rebel sponsors in the diaspora who disagreed with Joseph Kony’s participation in the Juba peace process and the subsequent killing of LRA deputy chief Otti Vincent by Kony. It is said this group was behind Kony’s refusal to sign the Juba peace agreement. Some soldiers of the UPDF are thought to be linked to the group. Sources intimated that the group had planned to use Bunyoro region as its operation area, particularly the Budongo Forest, as a base. The aim was to de-link it from the Acholi factor. The document reads: “Use Bunyoro region as an area for their operation and make use of Budongo Forests for training, Kibanda County for operation and recruitment of Alur and Acholi who stay in the area.” The first attack was to take place between December 2008 and January 2009, with the target being Gulu Prison. The aim of the attack was to release former LRA commander, Onen Kamdul Ajibo and Odongkara, who are said to have knowledge of where the LRA weapons are buried. The plan to attack Gulu Prison however failed when security sources got whim of the plan, in which they had tried to involve the Gulu Prison Wader, Francis Akena. Akena said he feared for his life and job. Its second target was to be the Police posts in Kafu, Budongo and various out posts within Masindi district. They aimed at getting arms for initial operations as they awaited their supplies. The group’s operation in Masindi is said to be coordinated by a secondary school teacher in the district who is also alleged to be recruiting people in the area. A security brief shows that the group came to light in February 2009, when security operatives detected deceptive information from officials from the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), claiming LRA deputy leader Okot Odhiambo wanted to surrender with over 200 fighters. Satellite phone tracking with the help of international security services indicated that the signals were from Kampala, not eastern DR Congo or South Sudan. Investigative intelligence led to the arrest of Patrick Komakech in March 2009. Komakech confessed that he was impersonating LRA rebel commanders Ceaser Accallam, Bwone Lubwa and Okot Odhiambo and conning foreign diplomats, government officials and other prominent personalities. Komakech in the process of interrogation is said to have confessed to being a member of the new rebel group, the People’s Patriotic Front (PPF) that is planning to overthrow the Government. He mentioned several names of other people who were subsequently arrested from Gulu, Amuru, Pader and Masindi district by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI). Its objectives show that the group was to recruit already trained military personnel, former rebels or UPDF deserters as well as serving soldiers that subscribe to their ideas. Its members were instructed not to abduct young children, rob civilians or commit any atrocities. They were supposed to use money sent from abroad for luring people and buying things from people. On June 16, the Buganda Road Magistrate Court charged 12 suspected commanders and recruitment officers of PPF with treason.

NEWS: Jinja Hospital pathetic - MP Balikowa

2009-06-29T20:49:00.000-04:00

Jinja Hospital pathetic - MP Balikowa

Monday, 29th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

JINJA Hospital is in a pathetic state, Parliament has heard. Budiope MP Henry Balikowa told Parliament presided over by the deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, on Thursday that the hospital also lacked basic medicines like panadol and septrin. Balikowa said his attention was drawn to the pitiable situation at the hospital, which serves the entire Busoga region as a referral facility, when a relative was admitted last week. “What I found at the hospital was pathetic. What perturbed me most is that medical workers do not have gloves,” Balikowa noted. He demanded an explanation from the Government. However, Kadaga did not ask any government official to give an explanation. Health minister Dr. Stephen Mallinga in an interview with The New Vision, explained that all hospitals are well supplied with drugs from the National Medical Stores. He blamed the shortages on corrupt hospital staff. “MPs should probe the situation of drugs in hospitals in their constituencies,” the minister said over the phone. An inventory of drugs sent to Jinja Hospital from the National Medical Stores under the Credit Line Programme shows that anti-malarials, pain killers, de-wormers and sterilizers were supplied. Others are sundries, condoms, contraceptives, syrups, ointments and other medical equipment. “The drugs are there unless the Primary Health Care funds have been diverted or the drugs we supplied were stolen,” Hamis Kaheru, the National Medical Stores spokesperson, said. Most patients talked to over the weekend, on condition of anonymity, expressed disgust at the appalling conditions. They said the workers ask them to buy glooves and drip water. Dr. Benon Wanume, the medical superintendent, refuted the drug shortage allegations, adding that not every patient required to be handled with gloves.

NEWS: AIDS body wants testing for all

2009-06-29T09:01:00.000-04:00

AIDS body wants testing for all

Sunday, 28th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE AIDS Information Centre has launched a sh100b plan to ensure quality counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS is available to all in the next five years. “Our wish is that everyone in Uganda undergoes HIV testing. We want a situation where everyone knows his or her status for us to be able to fight the disease,” the chairperson, MP Chris Baryomunsi, said on Friday. At the moment, only 21% of Ugandan adults, or 2.5 million, know their HIV status. About one million people in Uganda are infected with the disease, according to statistics by the AIDS Information Centre, while 1.2 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. In what is considered the third phase of the epidemic in Uganda, prevalence rates have stabilised at between 6% and 7%, up from 5% a few years ago. Launching the plan at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala, the Minister of Local Government, Adolf Mwesige, expressed concern over the increase in new infections among married couples. A study conducted earlier this year by Makerere University on behalf of the Uganda AIDS Commission and UNAIDS said about 650,000 Ugandans are unknowingly living with an HIV-positive partner and almost 85,000 will contract the virus this year if nothing is done to increase awareness. Mwesige called upon Ugandans to embrace voluntary counselling and testing, and appealed to the donors to support the plan, which will be financed by the Government and development partners. He also appealed to the organisation to make sure funds provided by foreign tax-payers reach the beneficiaries, adding that the misappropriation of the Global Fund money was still fresh in the minds of people. Formed in 1990, the AIDS Information Centre was the first centre to provide the public with voluntary and anonymous HIV counselling and testing. The organisation, based in Mengo-Kisenyi, Kampala, has eight branches in 41 districts. The history of AIDS in Uganda is generally divided into three phases. The first stage saw the rapid spread of HIV through urban sexual networks and along major highways from its origin in the Lake Victoria region. Doctors in this area had become aware of a surge in cases of severe wasting known locally as ‘slim disease’. In 1982, the first AIDS case in Uganda was diagnosed and the link between ‘slim’ and AIDS was clinically recognised. It was not until 1986, when the Ugandan civil war ended and President Yoweri Museveni came to power, that the country had a major HIV prevention programme. By this time, the country was in the midst of a major epidemic, with prevalence rates of up to 29% in urban areas. The programme promoted the ABC approach: abstain, be faithful and use condoms, and ensured the safety of the blood supply. Strong political leadership and commitment to tackling the rampaging epidemic, as well as prevention work at grass-root level, were key elements in the early response to AIDS. The second phase of the epidemic ran from 1992 to 2000. During this period, HIV prevalence fell dramatically, from a peak in 1991 of around 15% among adults, and over 30% among pregnant women in the cities, to around 5% in 2001. It is believed that the Government’s ABC prevention campaign was partly responsible for the decline. However, as treatment was not widely available, the high numbers of AIDS-related deaths also contributed to the reduction in the number of people living with HIV. The third phase has seen the stabilisation of prevalence during 2000-2005, and reports of a slight increase in prevalence from 2006. It is thought that the availability of free antiretroviral drugs may have led to complacency as AIDS is no longer an immediate death sentence. Many experts have also speculated that Uganda’s shift in prevention policy away from ABC towards US-backed ‘abstinence-only’ programmes may also be responsible for the increase.

NEWS: Children ask for more HIV funding

2009-06-21T00:24:00.000-04:00

Children ask for more HIV funding

Friday, 19th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

CHILDREN n in northern Uganda have petitioned Government to increase funding for children living with HIV/AIDS and those born by mothers under the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of AIDS programme. They said many children and mothers had died because of lack of access to HIV/AIDS services in the villages. “The Government should ensure full integration of PMTCT services in the reproductive health system,” the children’s representative, Winfred Olanyo-Jok, said. The children presented a memorandum to the secretary for community services and children’s affairs, Santa Oketta, during the celebrations to mark the Day of the African Child at the Kaunda grounds in Gulu district. Gulu chairman Norbert Mao, in a speech read by Oketta, promised to ensure a safe and protective environment for children. During the celebrations, about 800 children and young adults were tested for HIV in a drive by Save the Children in Uganda, a non-governmental organisation.

NEWS: HIV/AIDS- Stigma increases school dropout rate in Gulu

2009-06-18T21:47:00.002-04:00

HIV/AIDS- Stigma increases school dropout rate in Gulu

Sunday, 14th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

Children living with HIV/AIDS receive gifts at the Health Alert-Uganda centre in Gulu during a therapy programme

STIGMATISATION is still a setback in the fight against AIDS, leading to an increase in the school dropout rate of children living with HIV/AIDS. Students say they have been compelled to either drop out of school, leave boarding for day schools or change schools because they are being stigmatised by fellow students. One girl who preferred only to be named as Joan in Senior Three, says she wants to transfer to another school because students at her current school point fingers and gossip about her. This is causing her a lot of psychological trauma. “Sometimes I fear coming to school because of what other students might say about me,” she said. Walter Komakec, the project officer of Health Alert-Uganda, said the project is looking after 1,833 children, 759 girls and 624 boys. Health Alert-Uganda is a non-governmental organisation supporting children living with and those affected by HIV/AIDS in Gulu. Komakec said the number of children living with HIV/AIDS has increased ever since the project started its operations in 2004. He said the organisation had intensified community-based approaches, working with locals at the sub-county, parish and village levels. Peer educators and volunteers move to the villages where they meet families and encourage them to carry out voluntary blood testing, he said. “However, stigmatisation still remains a big challenge. The only way to fight this is through massive sensitisation of the communities to create awareness so that more and more people can go for voluntary counselling and testing,” said Komakec. Joan said with the comments her colleagues at school make, she finds it difficult to concentrate in class. She applauds AVSI, an Italian organisation, for paying her tuition, and the Health Alert-Uganda for offering free counselling, health education, food relief and parental guidance. Joan said her relatives told her that her mother died 17 years ago when she was still a baby. She said her father, who is still alive, neglected her. She lives with her grandmother in Gulu town. The grandmother does not work and has no constant source of income. She says she wants to study hard and become a doctor so that she can treat people living HIV. She says getting ARVs and drugs for treating opportunistic infections is a problem. “My father does not give me any support. I appeal to the Government and non-governmental organisations like Windle Trust and Invisible Children to support me and other children living with HIV/AIDS so we do not feel abandoned.” Another girl, Brenda, 18 in Senior Four, was born with HIV. She said she is an orphan, having lost her parents when she was only one year old. “I moved from Sacred Heart SSS, a boarding school in Gulu, because of stigma from fellow students who after learning of my dilemma, mocked me and uttered awful words as I took my drugs. I am now in a day school. I feel more comfortable because I take my drugs from home,” says Brenda. She wants to be either a nurse or an agricultural engineer. “My mother was a nurse. That is why I also want to become a nurse. I want to help people living with AIDS, especially in the Acholi sub-region. I ask the Government to look at all the children, especially those in northern Uganda, who are living with HIV/AIDS as useful citizens,” she says. Francis, 18, in Senior Six at Koch Goma SSS in Amuru district, says the support being given by Health Alert-Uganda gives him the will to live and instills hope in him. “It makes me think I still have a better future despite living with HIV/AIDS.” He wants to be an accountant or a lawyer. He boasts of practising total abstinence and not searching for a sexual partner yet. He says this will help him live positively and minimise the risk of infecting other people. “I fear that with the meagre resources my father gets from his peasant farming, I might not achieve my dreams. ”His father cannot afford to pay her school fees of sh100,000 a term. “I am being offered free education at Koch Goma SSS. The school is willing to take me on until Senior Six. Who will sponsor me at the university?” Francis wonders. The Health Alert-Uganda programme officer, Jennifer Opoka, says the challenges the organisation faces in fighting HIV include: low male involvement, stigma, discrimination and limited community involvement in caring for children living with AIDS. She says Save the Children Denmark, through Save the Children Uganda, provides funding to the projects. She adds: “The projects aim at promoting positive living with improved care to children living with AIDS. Others are to prepare the children for disclosure, strengthen capacity of Health Alert in Uganda and to map out locations of all the children to enable facilitation.” Health Alert is a six-year-old organisation in Gulu Municipality that is supporting 1,833 children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

NEWS: A crunch on HIV/Aids budgets in sub-saharan Africa

2009-06-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

A crunch on HIV/Aids budgets in sub-saharan Africa

Thursday, June 18, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

International donors and African governments are likely to cut health budgets due to the global financial crisis according to a recent Inter Press Service (IPS) report. Health experts fear that increasing unemployment and poverty will lead to less food security and quality of nutrition, which will in turn put more stress on already weak health systems.The IPS report indicates that Tanzania was the first sub-Saharan country to announce a 25 per cent cut of its annual HIV/Aids budget. It goes on to reveal, “The South African government has indicated that large private firms, especially mining companies, are likely to cut their HIV prevention programmes affecting thousands of employees and their families. Even worse, Botswana’s presidential spokesperson, Jeff Ramsay, recently announced that the government will not be able to include new patients in its free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme from 2016 onwards because it does not have sufficient funds to expand the programme.Researchers estimate the negative impact of this crisis will affect 70 per cent of people on ARV treatment in Africa within the next twelve months.”IPS further reported, “Even international donor organisations have started feeling the financial crunch. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria recently announced it is at least $4 billion short of the money needed to continue funding essential HIV, TB and malaria services in 2010. The coalition believes there is a $10.7 billion funding gap for regional implementation of the Global Plan to Stop TB alone.”Nowhere however did the rather lengthy report particularly refer to Uganda as one of the countries likely to cut its spending on HIV/Aids support. Dr. Penninah Itung Director of Uganda Cares, one of the leading Aids support organisations in Uganda, said they are still assured of further funding from American AIDS Health Care. “We are not aware of such a thing as a cut in our promised funding,” she said when contacted. “We do expect continued funding.”A number of AIDS and tuberculosis activists from across Sub-Saharan Africa – including ARASA, the South African Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the Kenyan Collaborative Fund for HIV Treatment Preparedness – have now come together to lobby for continued health financing.

NEWS: Immunisation campaign extended

2009-06-13T08:02:00.000-04:00

Immunisation campaign extended

Friday, 12th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE ministry of Health will carry out another round of polio and measles immunisation today in areas that were hit by vaccine shortage during the just-ended three-day national immunisation campaign. Last weekend several parts of the country reported a shortage of vaccines. This left several parents and guardians who had taken their children for immunisation stranded. “We have asked our supervisors countrywide to document sub-counties where some children missed being immunised because of a shortage of the vaccines so that we can deliver them. We shall have a mop-up exercise on Saturday,” said Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, the head of the immunisation programme in the health ministry. He said the shortages were mainly in parts of western, central and eastern Uganda. In Lira, Mugyenyi explained, there was apparent shortage where some sub counties had shortages while others were overstocked. This was sorted out through internal redistribution. Mpigi and Nakasongola districts postponed their immunisation campaign from June 12 to June 15. “At the end of the exercise, we shall give all the remaining vaccines to the health centres to enable them immunise any child who could have missed,” Mugyenyi said. “Parents should also continue with routine immunisation of their children instead of relying on national immunisation days or campaigns.” The health ministry, Mugyenyi said, procured 5.8 million doses for the measles vaccine and 8.7 million for polio.

NEWS: Vaccine shortage spoils immunisation exercise

2009-06-09T16:10:00.003-04:00

Vaccine shortage spoils immunisation exercise

Monday, 8th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

A nurse immunising a child at Nansana health centre as others wait in the queue on Saturday

SHORTAGES and late delivery of vaccines marred the three-day national polio and measles campaign countrywide as the turn-out was higher than expected. This left many parents and children stranded at the immunisation centres. In Kampala district, a number of immunisation centres, such as Ntinda, reported they had run out of stocks, especially of measles vaccines. Officials at Kiswa health centre in Bugolobi, which was the distribution centre for the area, confirmed the shortage in Ntinda, which had been restocked by yesterday morning. At Kiyumba immunisation centre in Makindye Division, the vaccines had run out by Sunday noon. The parents and guardians waited in vain for their children to be immunised. When The New Vision visited the centre yesterday afternoon it was closed. In some areas of Lira district, children who turned up on Sunday also went home without being served because the stocks were depleted. Health officials in Aromo and Amugo sub-counties have extended the exercise, which was supposed to end yesterday, up to today. “The fridges had technical problems, which forced the distributors to return the vaccines to the main store in Lira. The distribution for the two sub-counties is now done from Lira,” said Dr. Peter Kusolo, the Lira district health officer, adding that technicians were repairing the fridges. Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, the head of the immunisation programme, attributed the shortage of vaccines to the overwhelming numbers. “In Kampala, we advised the health workers in areas which had shortages to pick some from those which had excess vaccines,” he said. Trucks were sent out at night to replenish districts that had reported stock-outs, he added. The health ministry had planned to immunise children between 0 and five years (for polio) and between nine months and four years (for measles). It aimed at immunising 4.7 million children against measles and 6.2 million against polio. But some parents turned up with children beyond the age brackets. This interfered with the ministry’s arrangements. The exact number of children who were immunised will be out later this week. Meanwhile, in Mubende district, officials rushed to Bukuya sub-county on Sunday, following reports that a group of people was moving from house to house, telling residents not to take their children for immunisation arguing that it would harm them. “We found out that these were the local leaders. Instead of arresting them, we ordered them to mobilise the people to take their children and they obliged,” said Stephen Nsubuga Bewaayo, the resident district commissioner. He said the highest number of culprits was in Makokoto parish, bordering Mubende and Mityana districts. “In this parish, the most affected villages were Kanoga, Kuzimu and Kyabakadde. The parents were stubbornly resisting, having heard from critics that the vaccines would harm their children,” Bewaayo said.

NEWS: Thousands rush for polio, measles immunisation

2009-06-07T22:48:00.005-04:00

Thousands rush for polio, measles immunisation

Sunday, 7th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

Mothers lining up as they wait to have their children immunised at Wakiso health centre on Saturday

THOUSANDS of parents countrywide over the weekend jammed immunisation centres rushed their children for immunisation against polio and measles. “The turn-up on day one was overwhelming. Districts with a high turn-up include Bukedea, Mbale, Sironko, Kaliro, Kampala and Wakiso. Some have even asked for more vaccines,” said Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, the head of the immunisation programme in the health ministry. He explained that due to poor distribution, there was a shortage of vaccines in some areas on the first day. “The measles vaccine was a crowd puller. Although the vaccine was to be administered to children between nine months and four years, some above this age were immunised and this is not bad,” Mugyenyi said. “We had given an equal amount of vaccines to all sub-counties. After the high turn-up in some areas, we had to redistribute.” Mugyenyi appealed to heads of nursery schools to ensure that pupils are immunised in the exercise that ends today. In Kampala, health officers had difficulty in transporting the vaccines, resulted into the late delivery in some centres. The district plans to have 310,000 children vaccinated. “On Thursday and Friday, we carried out immunisation in the schools. We are continuing with the exercise today,” said Joseph Senzoga, the in-charge of disease surveillance and response. Most of the immunisation centres in Wakiso district visited on Saturday registered more than half of the anticipated numbers. The district is targeting 240,000 children. The local leaders warned residents against shunning the exercise. The district director for health services, Emmanuel Mukasa, said: “In 2003, we designed a district ordinance on immunisation. Any visitor or resident found disrupting immunisation exercises faces the law. They can be imprisoned up to six years or pay a fine of sh1m.” He added that in 2008, about 8,000 children in Wakiso were not immunised. Touring the immunisation centres in Wakiso on Saturday, the World Health Organisation country representative, Joaquim Saweka, said: “Polio and measles do not respect borders. With these efforts, we are confident Wakiso will be one of the districts with a high immunisation turn-up. ” In Kasese district, some areas like Karusandara sub-county that registered a slow response in March had overwhelming numbers in the ongoing immunisation. Immunisation kicked off on Saturday with a low turn-up, but the trend changed in the afternoon. “We expect good results. The high turn up is because politicians joined the immunisation campaign,” said Dr. Peter Mukobi, the Kasese health officer. Several parents from the DR Congo crossed into Uganda to have their children immunised in Kasese and Kanungu districts. “We have received about 30 Congolese on day one, but hope to get many of them before we conclude the programme,” Josephine Kasya, the district chairperson, said. The Uganda Red Cross coordinator for Rukungiri and Kanungu districts, Benjamin Cadet, said some Congolese had walked for over 50km to immunise their children. The relief agency deployed 200 volunteers in all the 508 immunisation posts in Kanungu district to assist the health workers. The Uganda Red Cross is supporting the Government in mobilising the public and transporting the vaccines in 15 districts for measles and 11 districts for polio. In Mityana, the Buganda Kingdom’s Ssingo county chief, Mukwenda Stanley Kijjambu, warned detractors against misleading the public about the immunisation. Kijjambu on Friday accused some people of politicising the exercise. The district health officer, Dr. Fred Lwasampijja, said the turn-up on Saturday was good. “We expect to have at least 90% of the children immunised.” Reported by Anthony Bugembe, John Nzinjah, Caleb Bahikaho and Luke Kagiri

NEWS: New study faults Uganda government on HIV resource allocation

2009-06-06T00:28:00.001-04:00

New study faults Uganda government on HIV resource allocation

Saturday, June 6, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

After over 15 years and billions of shillings spent on promoting ABC, Uganda has been named as one of the countries which is committing little resources on national HIV prevention campaigns, writes Peter NyanziUganda is one of the countries where scarce resources are being spent on national HIV/Aids prevention campaigns that do not reach the people most at risk of infection, a new research has shown. The report, which was released at the end of May, decries a lack of an evidence-based approach to HIV/Aids, adding that there is a mismatch between resources and infection rates because prevention policies and programmes are not aligned and targeted to the populations in most need.The study, titled, “The Analysis of Prevention Response and Modes of Transmission," was carried out between 2007 and 2008 by Unaids and the World Bank in partnership with the Uganda Aids Commission; to find out how and where most HIV/Aids infections were occurring and whether existing prevention efforts and expenditure matched these findings. “The synthesis shows a mismatch between the epidemiology, policies and programmes and the resource allocation,” the report reads in part. “Despite the evidence of the risk factors and drivers of the epidemic, there are no policies targeting most at risk populations (MARPs), circumcision and the contextual factors.” Over the past 15 years, HIV/Aids prevention campaigns have been based on the assumption that young, single people who engaged in casual sex were most at risk of infection. Over the years, Uganda has spent billions promoting the ABC model (Abstain, Be faithful to one sexual partner and Condom use) but the study found that 43 per cent of infections still occurred among those who had multiple sex partners besides their regular partners. The report recommends “a re-alignment of prevention efforts to where the new infections are occurring and to the populations most in need,” adding that the focus of HIV/Aids spending should be on prevention campaigns aimed at married people or those in long-term relationships. It says only 31 per cent of the $249 million resource envelope used to fight HIV/Aids went to prevention strategies while the bulk of the funding (53 per cent) went towards care and treatment. About 1.5 million Ugandans are said to be HIV/Aids positive. Programme management and mitigation each took 8 per cent.Ms Debrework Zewdie, the director of the World Bank's Global HIV/Aids Unit, noted that the current global economic downturn made it more important than ever to get the most impact out of investments in HIV/Aids prevention. According to the report, the previously heralded decline in prevalence from a peak of 18 per cent in 1992 to 6.1 in 2002 ended and that there is a stabilisation of prevalence between 6.1 and 6.5 per cent in some antenatal testing sites and even a rise in others.This is accompanied by “a deterioration in behavioral indicators” especially an increase in multiple concurrent partnerships. There has also been a shift in the epidemic from single casual relationships to long term stable relationships. It says 43 per cent of new HIV/Aids infections were among monogamous relationships while 46 per cent are among persons reporting multiple partnerships. Commercial sex workers, their clients and partners of clients contribute 10 per cent of new infections. The report also confirms that there has been a shift in concentration of the epidemic from younger to older individuals with the highest prevalence for men (9.9 per cent) being among 35-39 year olds, while for women (12 per cent) it is among 30-34 year olds. Furthermore, the high burden of herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) of 44 per cent has fueled the epidemic.The report recommends the establishment of clearer policies, standards and guidelines to improve HIV counseling and testing services, information, education and communication (IEC), male circumcision and behaviour change interventions for married and long-term sexual partners, people living with HIV and at-risk groups. The research was also carried out in Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique and Lesotho where it was also revealed that most new infections were occurring because people were continuing to have more than one partner at a time, both before and during marriage.

NEWS: Uganda 3rd most corrupt — report

2009-06-05T00:04:00.001-04:00

Uganda 3rd most corrupt — report

Thursday, 4th June, 2009 from NEW VISION

UGANDA is ranked among the countries most affected by petty bribe, according to the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer of Transparency International, an international watchdog. A total of 55% of Ugandan respondents said they or anyone living in their household paid a bribe in the past 12 months. Uganda scores the third-highest among 69 countries in Asia, America, the Middle East, Europe and Africa sampled. It shares the third place with Cameroon. Liberia tops the list, with 87% of respondents saying they paid a bribe in the past year, followed by Sierra Leone (62%). The judiciary is perceived as the most corrupt by Ugandans, with 36% identifying it as the single most corrupt institution in the country, closely followed by public officials and civil servants (34%). The media and the private sector are perceived the least corrupt, with 1% and 4% respectively marking it as topping the list of corrupt institutions. Ordinary people, in Africa and the rest of the world, do not feel empowered to speak out about corruption, the survey found. “Three quarters of all the people who reported paying bribes do not file a formal complaint,” says the just released report. “About half of bribery victims interviewed did not see existing complaint mechanisms as efficient.” In Uganda, less than half – or 48% - considered the Government’s actions in the fight against corruption as effective. However, corruption matters to Ugandans. More than 64% reported that they would be willing to pay more to buy from a ‘corruption-free’ company, among the highest in the world. “The message to the private sector from consumers is clear: being clean pays off,” says the report. “Not only does clean business create a level playing field while supporting long-term growth and productivity, it attracts customers.” Worldwide, bribery has gone up, particularly in the Police and the judiciary, Transparency International concludes. People who reported paying a bribe to court officials went up from 8% to 14% in the last 3 years. In addition, 15% of all respondents who contacted land authorities in the 12 months prior to the survey reported paying a bribe. “This figure confirms that corruption in the land management sector is a widespread problem that has been increasingly recognised as a government challenge,” the report notes.

NEWS: Uganda 17th most peaceful in Africa

2009-06-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

Uganda 17th most peaceful in Africa

Tuesday, 2nd June, 2009 from NEW VISION

UGANDA’s state of ‘peacefulness’ is still low, according to a report released by the Institute for Economics and Peace yesterday. The Global Peace Index (GPI) report released at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, shows that out of the 144 countries surveyed, Uganda ranked at position 103. In the league of Africa countries, Uganda ranks 17th out of 31 countries sampled. The most peaceful countries in Africa are Botswana, Malawi, Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique. Tanzania leads the pack in East Africa being the 59th overall globally and seventh in the region. Post-genocide Rwanda, too, beats Uganda in the ranking, emerging 86th overall and 13th on the continent. Kenya wallows on the 113th position internationally and lies in the 19th in Africa. New Zealand ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Norway. Rounding out the top five were Iceland in the the fourth place and Austria in the fifth position. Overall, the GPI revealed that small, stable and democratic countries ranked highest of the top 20 countries are in western and central Europe. Iraq was again the world’s least peaceful country in 2008, remaining in 144th position. Afghanistan, Somalia, Israel and Sudan were the next least peaceful, ranking 143rd to 140th respectively. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the biggest riser, up 23 places to 50th position this year, while Madagascar saw the biggest fall in ranking (30 places) amid mounting political instability and violent demonstrations. The Index defines peace as “the absence of violence,” and looks at 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators of external and internal measures of peacefulness. Internally, these include homicides, the percentage of the population in jail, the availability of guns, and the level of organised crime. External indicators include the size of the military, exports and imports of arms, battlefield deaths, UN peacekeeping contributions and relations with neighbouring states. Uganda in the recent past had a spate of brutal murders and rape, aggravated robbery, human sacrifice, violent demonstrations and conmen fleecing people. Thousands of people are in detention. The country is still grappling with the disarmament programme in the Karamoja region while its porous borders allow for illegal guns from Sudan, Somalia and Kenya to enter. The guns are mainly used for cattle rustling. The Police investigations have in the past also incriminated some security operatives as accomplices in armed robberies. However, internal affairs minister Kirunda Kivejinja declined to comment on the report arguing he could not respond to an examination he did not set. “I am in charge and I know you are operating in a secure place. I would be concerned if they said you are operating in an insecure environment,” Kivejinja said in a telephone interview. “Peace can be measured and valued in economic terms,” Clyde McConaghy, president of the GPI, said. “There is a correlation between the economic crisis and the decline in peace. This confirms that there is a real-world economic value for peace,” McConaghy said.

NEWS: Christians hold joint prayers to end child sacrifice

2009-06-01T23:44:00.001-04:00

Christians hold joint prayers to end child sacrifice

June 2, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

MasakaChristians in Masaka District have held joint prayers to end child sacrifice, ritual murder, sodomy and lesbianism. The prayers, which were sponsored by World Vision, a Christian charity organisation, took place at Kijjabwemi Church of Uganda in Masaka Municipality on Sunday. Reverend Canon Nkambo Mugerwa of Kijjabwemi Archdeaconry led the prayers which were also attended by Monsignor Joseph Kato Ssempungu, the Vicar General of Masaka Diocese, Reverend Male Ssekabi of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Masaka, and several pastors of Pentecostal churches. The function attracted hundreds of Christians from the neighbouring districts of Lyantonde, Rakai, Ssembabule, and Kalangala.World Vision Regional Programme Manager Joel Kisubi said for many years, his organisation has been holding the Global Day of Prayer and that just as the Christians were praying at Kijjabwemi, similar prayers were being conducted in 217 countries across the world under the theme: “Repentance and Prayer”. “We are an NGO that focuses on children and their well-being,” Mr Kisubi said. “But we must supplement our physical efforts with prayers because God has the greatest power to protect the children.”Monsignor Kato later told Daily Monitor in a private interview that he could not blame the Police alone for failing to arrest those involved in child sacrifice. “All of us including Police are fighting the same evil practice,” he said.

NEWS: Six million kids to get polio vaccine

2009-06-01T23:41:00.001-04:00

Six million kids to get polio vaccine

Monday, 1st June, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE Government plans to immunise six million children against polio and measles, the health ministry has said. The immunisation manager, Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, said children under the age of five would be immunised from Saturday to Monday. “We have targeted to cover 95% of the country. This would be a good step in fighting polio and measles.” Mugyenyi was addressing journalists at Hotel Africana in Kampala yesterday. He said the sh11b exercise is funded by Unicef, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Red Cross and the Government. A WHO official, William Mbabazi, said 10 paralytic polio cases had been recently confirmed in Uganda. He explained that eight cases were detected in Amuru and two in Moyo and Pader districts. Mbabazi expressed concern over the fact that 2,000 polio cases were confirmed countrywide. The assistant commissioner in-charge of health, Paul Kagwa, said they had scaled up the mobilisation to encourage the public to support the campaign. He added that political, religious and cultural leaders would be sensitised about the exercise. Kagwa warned that parents who sabotage the campaign would be prosecuted. He explained that polio had been imported from the DR Congo and Southern Sudan as a result of cross-border movements. Uganda had been declared free of polio since 1996 and was certified in October 2006.

NEWS: Female headed homes on the increase

2009-05-31T23:56:00.000-04:00

Female headed homes on the increase

Sunday, 31st May, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE number of female-headed households has increased to 30%, up from 27% in 2007, a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics has indicated. The majority of female headed households are in the central region at 35%, with the bulk of them in Kampala. Western region follows at 28% and Eastern region at 26%. The study also said northern Uganda was leading the rest of the country in polygamy. The survey on gender and productivity, commissioned by the Prime Minister’s office, indicated that even in male-headed households, men were abdicating their duties. It revealed that when the men realise that their wives are making some money, they divert theirs to mistresses or other things that are not shared by the family. The objective of the survey was to assess progress made towards gender equality in various development areas. The study, carried out between November 2007 and February 2008, covered 4,291 households. It used questionnaires on assets ownership, health, roles in decision making and domestic violence. The results were released last week at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala to district leaders. Less than 10 MPs attended. The report said unequal gender relations were increasing poverty. “Women’s economic opportunities are constrained by low social status, lack of ownership of productive resources, a heavy workload and limited participation in decision making at household and community level,” the report said. It also said women faced constraints when operating within their home or venturing into private enterprise. It pointed at recent World Bank assessments, noting that female enterprises were twice more likely to get interference from the local government. The report further said domestic violence was widespread, which it attributed to the long history of bias against women. It said about 61% of married women had experienced physical violence within their homes, while 31% experienced violence in the last 12 months. Domestic violence is seen as one of the key stumbling blocks to the control of HIV/AIDS in Uganda, the study said. It said because of the persistent low social status, women had no control over their reproductive health. This, the report added, impacted on their economic productivity. “The high fertility rates are due to the fact that many women cannot decide when or how many children to have,” it said. The report also pointed out that many girls were dropping out of school, despite the universal primary and secondary education programme. It said parents were pulling their daughters out of school to marry them off or to force them into domestic work. Some drop out because they are defiled and impregnated by teachers, while others stop studying because their parents cannot afford the little money needed. Even in the Universal Primary Education schools, parents have to pay up to sh18,000, according to the report. The participants called for the creation of a Girl-child Trust to stop girls from dropping out of school.

NEWS: HIV/AIDS-A widow’s struggle to care for orphans affected by the disease

2009-05-26T22:09:00.003-04:00

HIV/AIDS-A widow’s struggle to care for orphans affected by the disease

Sunday, 24th May, 2009 from NEW VISION

Odongpiny (left) and her grandchildren at their new latrine. Neighbours would not let them use their latrines because they are HIV-positive

SOME of the stories told about the burdens some families are bearing as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, may sound hard to believe. Despite the efforts of the Government and non governmental organisations to support people living with HIV/AIDS, the burden is still heavy. One of the greatest challenges facing people living with HIV/AIDS is discrimination and stigmatisation. This has been the case for 66-year-old Mego Rose Odongpiny who contracted HIV while attending to her sick children. A resident of Layibi A and B village in Pece Division, Gulu Municipality, Odongpiny lost seven of her eight children to HIV/AIDS. Her husband died of natural causes and she is now left to care for her 14 orphaned grandchildren. “As I attended to my children, I was advised by health workers to test for HIV and was found positive. Since then, I have been taking care of my grandchildren, seven of whom are infected with HIV. There was no one to help me and our neighbours discriminated against us,” she says. Odongpiny sought help beyond her neighbourhood, but even there her efforts were futile. “I used to move to the offices of several NGOs working in Gulu but all I returned home with were promises that were never fulfiled. There was not a single follow-up on any of my requests for assistance. None of the organisations took the initiative,” she says as tears roll down her cheeks. It was not until Odongpiny approached Health Alert Uganda (HAU) that she was able to find help. She is now the beneficiary of a sh1.3m pit latrine from the organisation which also provides medical care for her HIV-positive grandchildren. The two-stance pit latrine was constructed with funds from Health Alert Uganda, Gulu Youth Centre and Save the Children in Uganda. It was recently handed over to Odongpiny at her home in Pece Division. Odongpiny says: “I am pleased with the contribution of the NGOs because my children used to ease themselves in the bush. The neighbours would stop the children from using their latrines because they have HIV/AIDS.” The advocacy officer of HAU, Francis Obutu, said the NGOs were fulfiling their social corporate responsibility by contributing towards the wellbeing of Odongpiny and her family. The Pece Division LC3 chairman, Geoffrey Otim, contributed sh100,000 as capital for Odongpiny to set up a small business. He said no one should be discriminated against for being HIV-positive.

NEWS: Somali crisis a genocide, says President Museveni

2009-05-26T22:06:00.001-04:00

Somali crisis a genocide, says President Museveni

Tuesday, 26th May, 2009 from NEW VISION online

The UN secretary general’s special representative to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, inspects a guard of honour mounted by Ugandan troops in Mogadishu on Monday. Abdallah was in Somalia to morale boost the peace-keepers

President Yoweri Museveni has described the situation in Somalia, where hard-line Islamists are battling the transitional Government, as genocide. “This is a type of genocide. Genocide does not have to be overnight. You can have slow genocide. Why should Africans suffer like this?” the President said. He was addressing guests at Serena Hotel on Monday at a function to mark the 46th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union). Clashes between the insurgents and government troops have left at least 200 people dead since the beginning of May and displaced another 60,000 people. President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist elected by a unity government in January, says radical al-Shabab fighters, accused of having links to al-Qaeda, have in their ranks foreigners who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Uganda and Burundi are the only countries that have contributed soldiers to the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia, forming a force of 4,300, far short of the 8,000 troops needed. Museveni named Somalia and Darfur as the only conflicts remaining in Africa, noting that the AU is addressing it with the urgency and seriousness it deserves. “At a political level, progress has been made in the area of continental peace and security, through our Peace and Security Council. Africa is increasingly taking responsibility with regard to the remaining parts on the continent,” he said. He cited the peace efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Burundi, and the current efforts in Darfur and Somalia, as a demonstration of the resolve by African leaders to solve their own problems. Museveni, however, pointed that the continent still faces economic challenges that should be addressed if the continent is to achieve the Millennium Develop Goals. “Challenges remain on the economic front, especially the roads, the railway and electricity”, he noted. “In the last 45 years, except for South Africa and Mauritius, no African country has transited from the Third World to the First World.” Richard Kabonero, the dean of the African diplomatic corps, cited piracy and terrorism as the greatest threat to African’s peace and stability. He appealed to Africa and the international community to find a lasting solution to the chaos in Somalia with a view of eradicating the potential terrorism threat in the Gulf of Aden. “Uganda and Burundi have contributed positively. However, much more should have been achieved if the mandate and size of the peacekeeping force were addressed,” he noted. On the political front, Kabonero reported that the AU had suspended Madagascar, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea Conakry following recent coups in those countries. Meanwhile, a senior Government official has said Uganda has no intention of withdrawing its troops from Somalia. “The AU mission has no plan to withdraw. We have played a positive role. We would want to see that built on rather than dismantled,” Ambassador James Mugume, the foreign affairs permanent secretary, told journalists yesterday during the induction workshop for new Ugandan ambassadors. Uganda last week announced it will soon send another contingent to Mogadishu to replace the ones who are there.

PICTURES: THE FACES OF UGANDA

2009-05-22T00:00:00.011-04:00

I thought I would take a break from all the news, etc and share a couple of my favorite people shots from our recent trip to Kiburara. More to follow.......(please feel free to send me yours to share)

RESOURCES: Rwanda revisited

2009-05-18T10:54:00.017-04:00

As I was walking home from work last night in the cool air of May, I couldn't help but think that 15 years ago on this very night there was a genocide happening in Africa the likes of which had not been seen in the world since the Holocaust. Since returning from Uganda, I have been intensely interested in Africa's history, culture, and politics. (Followers of this blog will see that is true..in fact, I find myself more interested in Ugandan news than the local news) It was inevitable that I would find myself reading about the spring days of 1994 in Rwanda when 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. It is a regrettable part of African history and even Uganda is a player upon the stage. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF ) was formed in 1987 by the Tutsi refugee diaspora in Uganda . The first Tutsi refugees fled to Uganda to escape ethnic purges beginning 1959. It was from there "base" in Uganda that a majority of the RPF led their assault on the Hutu militias ending the genocide, but not after hundreds of thousands lay dead across the Rwandan countryside. Sadly, some of the only real aid that the US sent during this time was to Uganda to help dispose of the nearly 10,000 bodies that washed up on the shores of Lake Victoria after being dumped in the Nyabarongo River. This graphically tragic part of African history has many stories to tell and lessons to learn. One is left wondering how this could have happened?....why there was silence from the Western world?...what were the sociopolitical warning signs that could have served as red flags?...what could one have done? While in the bloody aftermath, President Bill Clinton and others in the US and United Nations recognized their failure to act and warned that this must never happen again, one does not have to look too far from the borders of Rwanda to see that genocide is happening again and we are left with the same questions. Are we still silent?

- Patrick

Some resources I have found interesting and compelling on the subject:

BOOK: WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES by Philip Gourevitch

Written by a New York Times contributing editor who visited Rwanda shortly after the genocide, Gourevitch has written a tremendous account. Through personal stories that he collected from survivors and perpetrators alike, he brings us back to those dark days in 1994 to give an impassioned and informed account. Gourevitch takes us back to the very beginnings of the ethnic history and we see the progression of thought and action that led to nothing short of an extermination. The writing is compelling and has been called "among the best examples of the journalism of moral witness".

BOOK: LEFT TO TELL: DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST by Immaculee Ilibagiza

"In 1994, Rwandan native Ilibagiza was 22 years old and home from college to spend Easter with her devout Catholic family, when the death of Rwanda's Hutu president sparked a three-month slaughter of nearly one million ethnic Tutsis in the country. She survived by hiding in a Hutu pastor's tiny bathroom with seven other starving women for 91 cramped, terrifying days. This searing firsthand account of Ilibagiza's experience cuts two ways: her description of the evil that was perpetrated, including the brutal murders of her family members, is soul-numbingly devastating, yet the story of her unquenchable faith and connection to God throughout the ordeal uplifts and inspires. Her account of the miracles that protected her is simple and vivid. Her Catholic faith shines through, but the book will speak on a deep level to any person of faith. Ilibagiza's remarkable path to forgiving the perpetrators and releasing her anger is a beacon to others who have suffered injustice. She brings the battlefield between good and evil out of the genocide around her and into her own heart, mind and soul. This book is a precious addition to the literature that tries to make sense of humankind's seemingly bottomless depravity and counterbalancing hope in an all-powerful, loving God. " from Publisher's Weekly

FILM: HOTEL RWANDA

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle) during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The film, which has been called an African Schindler's List, documents Rusesabagina's acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them shelter in the besieged Hôtel des Mille Collines. Directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, the film was co-produced by US, British, Italian, and South African companies, with filming done on location in Johannesburg, South Africa and Kigali, Rwanda. As an independent film it had an initial limited release in theaters, but was nominated for multiple awards, including Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. It continues to be one of the most-rented films on services such as Netflix, and is listed by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 most inspirational movies of all time. The makers of this tremendous story went to great lengths to recount Rusesabagina's actions during the genocide as factual and historically accurate. A moving story which leaves you with 2 questions...what would you have done?...and more importantly, what will you do?

(RATED PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language)
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FILM: SOMETIMES IN APRIL

Written and directed by Raoul Peck, this movie is the first large-scale film about the 100 days of the 1994 Rwandan genocide to be shot in Rwanda, in the locations where the real-life events transpired. A chilling reminder of man's incomprehensible capacity for cruelty, Sometimes in April is an epic story of courage in the face of daunting odds, as well as an exposé of the West's inaction as nearly a million Rwandans were being killed. The plot focuses on two brothers embroiled in the 1994 conflict between the Hutu majority (who had ruled Rwanda since 1959) and the Tutsi minority who had received favored treatment when the country was ruled by Belgium. The protagonists (both Hutus) are reluctant soldier Augustin Muganza (Idris Elba), married to a Tutsi and father to three, and his brother Honoré (Oris Erhuero), a popular public figure espousing Hutu propaganda from a powerful pulpit: Radio RTLM in Rwanda. The drama is set in two periods, which unfold concurrently: In April 1994, after the Hutu Army begins a systematic slaughter of Tutsis and in April 2004, where Augustin is looking for closure and hoping to start a new life. Though a fictional story, it is wrapped around authentic events and interspersed with real news and press conference footage from that time.
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(RATED TV-MA for graphic violence, disturbing images, adult subject matter and brief language)

FILM: BEYOND THE GATES (aka SHOOTING DOGS)

The most recent and arguably the most emotionally powerful of the films pertaining to the 1994 genocide. The film was made with the help of survivors and filmed in the very locales where the story takes place giving it an unbeleivably realistic feel. "A powerfully moving rendering of the horrific genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, Beyond the Gates is the story of the Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO), a school run by Europeans and protected by the forces of the United Nations. Overseen by a spiritual, world-weary Catholic priest Father Christopher (John Hurt) and taught by an idealistic, naive young teacher Joe (Hugh Dancy), students and refugees alike perceive the ETO to be a safe haven of learning and love, where backgrounds and circumstances matter little and where humanitarian efforts are positively affecting the lives of the Rwandan people. When tensions between the Hutu and Tsutsi people of Rwanda escalate, father Christopher, teacher Joe, and Capitaine Delon (Dominique Horwitz), commander of the United Nation forces based at the ETO, find themselves thrust into the role of protecting a huge mass of Tsutsi refugees from certain massacre at the hands of the incensed Hutu population. Constrained by orders from the U.N. to "monitor" rather than "enforce" the peace in Rwanda, U.N. military forces are powerless to act against the mounting violence outside the school's gates and it quickly becomes evident to Father Christopher and Joe that they and the Rwandans depending on their protection are in extreme danger. In the end, both men are forced to choose between their humanitarian resolve and the preservation of their very lives. A microcosm of the extensive genocide that was carried out throughout Rwanda from April through June in 1994, the story of the ETO highlights to the larger world the ineffective and arguably destructive role that the Western World played in the Rwandan genocide. The film's immense power stems from stellar performances by John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, and Claire-Hope Ashitey (Marie) as well as exceptional writing by David Wolstencroft and impassioned story telling by director Michael Caton-Jones. Filming on location in Rwanda adds an added layer of authenticity to the film as does the inclusion of Rwandan survivors in various on- and off-screen roles. " - AMAZON REVIEWS

(Rated R for strong violence and disturbing images)

NEWS: Iran to fund oil processing in Uganda

2009-05-18T00:55:00.005-04:00

Iran to fund oil processing in Uganda

Sunday, 17th May, 2009 from NEW VISION

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Museveni inspect a guard of honour. Museveni was in Iran on a three-day state visit

IRAN has agreed to fund the entire value chain of Uganda’s oil production. Iran will also jointly fund the construction of an oil refinery in Uganda. The agreement was reached during President Yoweri Museveni’s three-day visit to Iran, where he held talk with his counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and addressed the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines. A communiqué issued at the end of the visit said the two countries will also expand co-operation in agriculture, especially agro-processing, investment, energy, mining, industry, vocational training, air transport, banking, ICT, public security and foreign relations. The two presidents re-affirmed their commitment to strengthen relations between their countries. “Regarding the field of energy in particular, the two leaders agreed to consider co-operation in building an oil refinery in Uganda. "On its part, Iran agreed to train Ugandans in its University of Petroleum Studies and other institutions in Iran in the relevant fields of petroleum,” a statement issued by State House said. “Iran also expressed its readiness to invest in the entire value chain of Uganda’s petroleum industry.” Uganda’s discovered oil resource in the Lake Albertine Graben is so far estimated at 600 million barrels of oil. Iran also expressed willingness to consider Uganda’s request for the supply of fuel for Uganda’s thermal power plant, while President Ahmadinejad accepted Museveni’s invitation to visit Uganda. They agreed to co-operate in production, processing and marketing of agro-products as well as in agricultural mechanisation. The two nations would also curve out a free trade zone. On international affairs, the Presidents reviewed the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa. They reiterated their commitment to disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. “They also re-affirmed the right of developing countries to develop nuclear energy for peaceful (development) purposes.” At a news conference later, Museveni observed that relations between Uganda and Iran have been excellent over the past 30 years. Ahmadinejad said Iran would ensure there are no obstacles in its bi-lateral trade with Uganda. The President, who returns today, was accompanied by ministers for trade and industry, ICT, energy and minerals and international affairs.

NEWS: Activists want HIV/AIDS Bill changed

2009-05-18T00:55:00.001-04:00

Activists want HIV/AIDS Bill changed

Sunday, 17th May, 2009 from NEW VISION

HUMAN rights activists have called for the review of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill. The activists said the Bill did not recognise the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS, which the Government says is intended to curb the high prevalence rate. If passed, persons found guilty of intentional transmission of the virus face up to two years imprisonment. Prof. Oloka Onyango, the director of the Human Rights and Peace Centre, Makerere University, on Friday said it was important for the Government to consider the link between the law and human rights in the fight against AIDS. Onyango was speaking at the closure of a workshop on law, human rights and HIV/AIDS at Makerere University. The workshop was attended by lawyers, activists and other persons involved in HIV/AIDS advocacy from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. “The Bill criminalises HIV transmission, yet only about 10% of the population knows their status. If the majority is unaware of their status, how can you criminalise transmission?” Onyango asked. He said the activists would write to Parliament to incorporate human rights in the Bill. Onyango said the move would enable Parliament make changes to the Bill before it is passed into law. State Attorney Ayebare Tumwebaze noted that it was difficult to prove whether the offender was aware of his or her status before transmission. He said doctors and health workers risked breaching confidentiality, if they were required to reveal the offender’s status. “Besides, how do you prove who transmitted to whom? These relationships take place in secret,” he said. The Open Society Initiative for East Africa health and rights programme officer, Christine Munduru, said the Bill should have been discussed by various people before it reached Parliament. She said if passed, it would victimise mothers because they would be blamed for intentionally infecting their children.

NEWS: Hunger pushes Teso residents to extreme ends as food becomes 'gold'

2009-05-16T14:18:00.005-04:00

Hunger pushes Teso residents to extreme ends as food becomes 'gold'

Saturday, MAY 16, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The recent past has seen the media reporting about the severe food shortage in many parts of the eastern region. Saturday Monitor's Evelyn Lirri visited Teso sub-region and brings you the appalling situation as residents reportedly survive on mangoes and porridge.

In the midday sun, 70-year-old Peter Oduluse lies quietly on a ragged cloth, spread under a mango tree in the compound of his home. He moves his frail body from side to side as he labours to breathe. He can neither sit nor stand. The contours of his rib cage are outlined through his emaciated body. He is not sick. He is just starved, having gone for several days without a solid meal.“I haven’t eaten in weeks. I have been depending on porridge which my daughter brings here everyday,” Mr Oduluse says.

Although it is already 12:40p.m. when we arrive at Mzee Oduluse’s home in Amucu parish, Asamuku Sub-county in Amuria District on Sunday May 10, even the porridge that he relies on has not been brought.Mr Oduluse, who says he was once a successful farmer before the floods of 2007 destroyed all his crops, now depends on his daughter and sometimes, the goodwill of neighbours.If the porridge does not come, Mr Oduluse will spend yet another night on an empty stomach.

Just a few metres away from his house, Ms Elizabeth Akello sits in a pensive mood under the shade of her grass-thatched mud house, contemplating her next move.The day has not been good for her as she does not know where she will get food to feed her 10 children.

DAY'S BITE: Children having mangoes for lunch in Amuria District. PHOTOS BY EVELYN LIRRI

She woke up early in the morning to wander through the wild for any edible green leaves to cook for her children but did not find anything this time round.She says her children will now have to take porridge for supper. “They can survive on mangoes during the day. There are plenty of them on the trees. We shall have porridge for supper tonight,” Ms Akello said.

But the mangoes are getting scarce by the day, spelling more disaster for many of the children who have been relying on it for survival.Two years ago, Ms Akello planted cassava but the floods washed away everything. This year, she has tried her hand at it again but the prolonged drought has affected the cassava once again.“If this drought continues, my children are going to die of hunger. I have nothing to give them,” she says, almost resigned to her fate.

The accounts of Mr Oduluse and Ms Akello are replicated in several parts of east and northern Uganda where famine is looming. Survival for many people in Teso sub-region has become a nightmare now that food is scarce. After being hit in 2007 by floods that destroyed most crops and a prolonged drought that devoured anything remaining after that, the region which used to have abundant food has plunged into famine, leaving thousands of people vulnerable to hunger and starvation.

A Saturday Monitor survey of various areas in the districts of Amuria and Katakwi, two of about eight of the districts across West Nile, northern and north-eastern regions which are facing serious food shortages, revealed firsthand accounts of the magnitude of the current food crisis. Other districts affected are Moyo, Adjumani, Arua, Abim, Moroto, Kotido and Busia.

In Abim, in north-eastern Uganda, the district speaker, Mr Godfrey Okello, reported a case of a 46-year-old woman, Lina Awili from Angiro village who died on May 4 after going for several days without food.

In Ogoria village, Ongogoja Sub-county in Katakwi, residents said a 65-year-old woman, Lucy Angura died of hunger-related causes in early April.Ongogoja is one of the worst hit areas by the famine in Katakwi.Here the famine has taken its toll mostly on women, children and the elderly as they are more vulnerable to hunger and starvation.

Scenes of children with bloated stomachs feasting on mangoes are common in the villages. With no food, that is the only way many of them can beat the hunger.“We only have supper these days. So during the day, we eat mangoes only,’’ said five year old Idd Eyumu, who lives with his grandmother. Ms Matilda Atim, in Ococo parish, Ogoria village in Ongonja Sub-county, who says she does not know her age, but looks over 70, is staying alive against all odds.In front of her was a saucepan full of mangoes that she was feasting on.“This is what I have got, my daughter. There’s no food and the mangoes have been my only saviour, she said.

Mr Godfrey Oluka displays a squirrel after a successful hunt in Kumi on Wednesday.

Ms Atim, who lost all her children and husband to rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, said when the mangoes finally get finished, she might starve to death. “I have no children who can give me food. All I have is that cassava which is dying,’’she said pointing to the backyard of her house where she has a small field of cassava and beans.

The days when she can manage to get a meal, only once a day, is a good day.When asked, the LCIII chairperson for Kuju Sub-county in Amuria, Mr Richard Epulu, said the prolonged drought has not allowed people to plant on time, while what had already been planted is rotting in the ground.“As we talk now, this should have been the first season when farmers should be planting but its dry. The rains should have come in early March but this has not been the case and yet we expect a dry spell from June. How are farmers going to cope?” he asked.

He said many families are finding it hard to have three meals a day. According to Mr Epulu, the last time the area suffered a major famine was in 1999 after a prolonged drought that resulted into a poor harvest.“People in Teso are active but the weather has not been favourable for us and we have now been reduced to beggars. We need the government to come in with some relief aid as we wait for the few crops in the garden to mature,” Mr Epulu said.

According to him, cassava is the only staple food that can be harvested in the early rainy season when hunger is acute, but an outbreak in 2008, of the cassava brown streak disease has destroyed the root tubers, worsening the situation. “You see the cassava lying in the ground but when you uproot, you don’t find any tubers. It is just disappointing,” he explained.

Even in cases where the food is available, Mr Peter Ipwoka, the LCI chairperson Osepai village, Asamuku Sub-county in Amuria said it has become expensive for majority of the people to afford.“A basin of cassava which used to go for Shs5,000 is now Shs12,000. Many families are living on less than Shs2,000 every day, how can they afford to buy the cassava?” he asked.
Mr Ipwoka said a kilogramme of beans has also jumped from Shs800 to Shs1,500, far beyond what ordinary villagers can afford.Emergency relief food, Mr Ipwoka said will be required to keep people going in the event that the famine continues.

The State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru, said his ministry is aware of the situation, revealing that Shs1.9 billion has been earmarked to address the crisis. He said maize and bean seeds, as well as cassava stems will be distributed to households in the affected areas.

For Samson Iliat, all hope is now in the groundnuts he has just planted. The sky opened up to deliver its heaviest rains in over two months in Katakwi District on the night of Sunday. Mr Iliat was in his garden in Odom village, Usuk Sub-county busy planting groundnuts.

Until recently, the 70-year-old mostly engaged in growing maize, beans and rice. But because most of these crops are highly dependant on good reliable rains and soils, they haven’t been much of a priority for him and many other farmers in the region. He is now trying to plant groundnuts. Last year, he planted one-and-a-half acres of maize and hoped he would get four bags of 100kg each but to his disappointment he got only one.Mr Iliat prepared his garden as early as March but the rains did not come. Now with the onset of the rains, he has decided to plant his groundnuts. The rains in coming days will determine how the yields fare, but Iliat is a little over a month behind schedule.

Groundnuts are usually planted during mid February and mid April during the first season and in early August for the second season.“It is already late but I have to plant now. I’m only hoping the rains will continue to fall in the coming weeks,” he said.

What he is producing is for home consumption because he does not want the current food shortage that has hit to affect him in the future. At the moment, he relies on charcoal burning to get money to feed his family. “I sell every sack at Shs 7,000 and use the money to buy beans and cassava flour and at times we rely on wild greens like ecomoil,” he said.

With the food shortage, almost every granary where food is stored between harvests is empty. The roofs have either collapsed or they have been abandoned altogether as most people prefer keeping the little food they have inside their houses other than the granaries.Ms Mary Akwi who lives in Adacara internally displaced camp in Katakwi said she last had food in her granary in 2006.

“When we were expecting the harvest of 2007, the floods came and since then we have not had any food in the granaries. With this famine, the granaries have been rendered useless. When you keep food there, it will be stolen,” Ms Akwi explained.

She has been struggling to keep her family of five children alive on one meal a day. With nothing much to till from the ground, she is now selling her labour to put food on the table.She is one of several villagers in Adacara who have been engaged in the construction of a community road. For every day she works, she earns Shs3,000 and it is this that she uses to buy food. The work is intensive and it has quickly exhausted Ms Akwi because she does not have proper meals in between and suffers from chest pain.

“When you come back and there is no good meal, the next day you can fail to go back to work. All this work depends on the energy you have,’’ Ms Akwi said. The famine has come with yet another problem, theft. “People have now resorted to stealing from the gardens. The other night thieves came and uprooted my cassava even when they have not matured,” Ms Akello said.
“You cannot even leave any food stuff to dry on the compound, you will not get it because some one will just steal it. The hunger is just too much,” Ms Akello complained.Reported cases of death as a result of hunger are so far low, but local leaders fear the situation could get worse if interventions are not made

NEWS: HIV/AIDS FIGHT: Uganda runs out of testing kits

2009-05-16T14:14:00.002-04:00

HIV/AIDS FIGHT: Uganda runs out of testing kits

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.

THE ABC STRATEGY: Vice President Bukenya championing the cause against AIDS.

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.

MISSIONS: COV LIFE trip to Kiburara 2008

2009-05-12T23:02:00.006-04:00

Video from the 2008 Covenant Life trip to Kiburara, Uganda

RESOURCES: DEAD AID - IS THERE A BETTER WAY FOR AFRICA?

2009-05-12T21:54:00.007-04:00

I am finishing up a most interesting (and somewhat controversial) book about the failure of government supported aid to Africa. More than a thorough and fascinating history of foreign aid to Africa and a detailed recouting of its failure, the author offers an alternative to African countries dependence on foreign aid that is respectful and insightful. Whether the DEAD AID plan (consisting of shifting the focus from aid to other sources of finance including: bonds, foreign direct investment, trade, remittances, and micro-finance) is a viable plan or not is somewhat of the current controversary. It is hard, however, not to become energized by the author's passion for her native continent and her desire to see Africa freed of its dependence, poverty, and corrruption. If nothing else, it fuels discussion and hopefully policy for a better approach to African aid...one that shows promise of change.

-Patrick

Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo

Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly

In this important analysis of the past fifty years of international (largely American) aid to Africa, economist and former World Bank consultant Moyo, a native of Zambia, prescribes a tough dose of medicine: stopping the tide of money that, however well-intentioned, only promotes corruption in government and dependence in citizens. With a global perspective and on-the-ground details, Moyo reveals that aid is often diverted to the coffers of cruel despotisms, and occasionally conflicts outright with the interests of citizens-free mosquito nets, for instance, killing the market for the native who sells them. In its place, Moyo advocates a smarter, though admittedly more difficult, policy of investment that has already worked to grow the economies of poor countries like Argentina and Brazil. Moyo writes with a general audience in mind, and doesn't hesitate to slow down and explain the intricacies of, say, the bond market. This is a brief, accessible look at the goals and reasons behind anti-aid advocates, with a hopeful outlook and a respectful attitude for the well-being and good faith of all involved.

NEWS: Govt in dilemma as food shortage bites

2009-05-10T21:49:00.004-04:00

Govt in dilemma as food shortage bites

Sunday, May 10, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

First came the expert’s warning about an unpredictable weather pattern. Then talk of looming famine followed by government assurances it had capacity to salvage the vulnerable from starvation.

Now, with reports of people dying of hunger in the countryside, officials in Kampala appear oddly caught off guard again.

They are in a panic mode, struggling to raise cash to buy food to assuage the battering effects of famine it knew, in time, was coming following sudden dry spells and failed crop yields in various parts of the country.

State Disaster Preparedness Minister Musa Ecweru said yesterday the Treasury has agreed to release only Shs1.9 billion out of Shs10 billion they requested to buy emergency food to feed the “most vulnerable.”

It remained unclear if individuals in hard-hit West Nile, Karamoja, Teso sub-regions as well as areas in the Mt. Elgon belt, who in official judgment do not appear helpless, would be left to suffer --- and die.

Karimojong women enjoy malwa, a local beer in Masese III Village, Jinja District recently. Karimojong women and children scavenge for food from garbage skips in Jinja Town.

The minister also offered no yardstick to determine the most vulnerable in an agonising situation where all clamour for food relief.

“We are going to buy food to help the most vulnerable people and liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that high and quick-yielding crop varieties are supplied for urgent planting in areas where rains have returned,” Mr Ecweru said yesterday, apparently reciting an overworked but unfulfilled official promise.

Farmers in the affected areas, he said, will be given cow peas seeds to plant alongside a sweet potatoes variety that matures within 85 days.

Three months is too long for people unable to put food on their table today to bear. Worse still, there is no guarantee the rains falling in some selected parts will continue predictably, something raising anger among frustrated victims now accusing government of neglecting them in their hour of need.

In the West Nile District of Moyo, where many people now survive on raw mangoes, the District Naads coordinator, Dr Thomas Anyanzo, said on Saturday that over the last three months, prices of most staples in the area increased by at least Shs500.

This is making it hard for struggling households to put food on the table.“Our worry is that the mango season is running out and what next for the people, no one knows!” he said.

Mr Hassan Fungaro, the MP for Obongi in Moyo District said yesterday that he personally approached Disaster Preparedness Minister, Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere to voice the desperation of his constituents but his plea for government food aid has been ignored.

“I don’t know why the government is treating its own citizens this way,” he said.

Daily Monitor was unable to reach Prof. Kabwegyere to respond to the allegations as his known cell phone was switched off.Ms Kabakumba Masiko, the information minister, however, said much of the criticism smells of “selfish political motives.”

“The government is not sidelining anyone. People should know that we run on a cash budget and can only act as and when the money is available,” she said last evening.

Ms Kabakumba said Finance will have to follow lengthy but mandatory procedures before making the cash available.

Then suppliers have to be sourced through an open bidding process with clearance by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets, the government contract monitoring authority.

“I cannot say when government will actually start buying the emergency food stock,” she said. Yet there is no explanation why the country does not have food reserves in the first place.

Instead Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi is asking donors to contribute $69, 300 (Shs211 million) to feed more than 1 million Karimojong for the next five months.

That should leave other affected areas even more worried. Interestingly, government has not navigated a fall back position should the development partners shun the appeal due to the devastating financial meltdown.

NEWS: ‘We are losing to HIV/Aids’

2009-05-09T21:44:00.002-04:00

‘We are losing to HIV/Aids’

Saturday, May 9, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Uganda appears to be losing the fight to stem increasing HIV infections in spite of billions of shillings that have been thrown at the effort, it has emerged.

While the Ministry of Health estimates that 1.1 million people are suspected to be affected by condition, representing 3.7% of the estimated 30 million Ugandans, the shadow minister for health, Dr Francis Epetait puts the number of people suspected to be infected with the virus that causes Aids at three million.

300,000 of them have progressed from infection to full blown sickness. Just half of that number are on life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

According to the Uganda Aids Commission, there are 135,000 new infections occurring every year especially at household level where there is a high level of discordance.

While addressing journalists at the closure of a three day national HIV/Aids counselling conference on Friday at Hotel Africana, Dr Sam Okware, the commissioner for community health at the health ministry said, “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.”

Dr Okware’s comments will be most disheartening especially to President Museveni who personally led a late 1980s’ awareness-raising offensive that resulting in Uganda bringing down prevalence rate to as low 6%. The country was viewed as a success story in the war against the scourge, now that seems to have been reversed.

While several mitigation measures have been tried which include, the ABC strategy which encouraged abstinence, being faithful to one sexual partner and condom use, together with companies coming up with HIV/Aids work place policies, which was aimed at ensuring that victims are not discriminated against, are given equal employment opportunities, access to care and treatment remains a challenge.

And this despite an attempt to take health services closer to the communities through voluntary home counselling and testing which has also scaled down since it was started three years ago because of the high costs involved.

The Uganda Aids Control programme is now focusing on scaling up psycho-social support through pre and post-test counselling to ensure that the people found negative are encouraged to remain negative and those found positive are encouraged to accept the situation and asked not to spread the virus to the uninfected people.The other option government is considering is legislation that would criminalise transmission of HIV/Aids.

But according to Dr Zainab Akol, a manager at the national Aids control programme, “the bill is unrealistic. HIV positive people should have been consulted because so many people are not aware of their status.”

A study conducted in Kawempe, Kampala in 2008 by a Makerere University anthropologist, Dr Stella Nyanzi, on the cultural perceptions of widowhood, reveal a rise in stigma among HIV/Aids infected persons especially the elderly.

While presenting her research findings at the Childhood Illnesses and Development Centre at Mulago on May 5, she said at Mengo Hospital where she conducted part of the study, young widows some of whom had lost multiple sexual partners, had scared away elderly women and men from accessing treatment. The elderly withdrew because whenever they went for treatment, the young taunted them: that they are too old to have acquired HIV.

According to the Aids control programme, 80% of new infections are sexually transmitted while 19% is from mother to child transmission. 60% of the infected people are discordant while only 25% of the population has received counselling and testing.

An Aids indicator survey is planned to be conducted before the end of the year to ascertain as close possible to the actual number of infected people.

Dr Epetait told Sunday Monitor that there has been a policy shift emphasising treatment which is more expensive as opposed to prevention. “Very little is being done to educate the public. There are very few condoms in supply and even the hand gloves are not enough in health facilities which exposes health workers to the disease.”

He said Parliament passed a Shs60 billion budget allocation to Quality Chemicals, the company that produces ARVs and malaria drugs but part of the money was diverted by the ministry for salary enhancement. “There is scarcity of ARVs. Once a patient has been put on treatment, it should continue, once it stops the resistance to the drugs increases which means that the regimen has to change. The number of people is increasing.”

NEWS: Injections cause 30,000 HIV/Aids infections annually

2009-05-08T00:37:00.002-04:00

Injections cause 30,000 HIV/Aids infections annually

Thursday, May 8, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Kampala Health experts are urging cautious use of injections after recent studies show at least 30,000 of the new HIV/Aids infections are a result of re-using needles and syringes.
Unless in extreme cases, medical experts say patients should try as much as possible to rely on tablets to cure their ailments.

“If you use the standard syringes, you are talking of at least 30,000 new infections from injections for HIV/Aids and yet if you use syringes that are easily disabled, you can cut those infections to about 250 annually,’’ said Dr Jacinto Amandua, the Commissioner for Clinical Services in the Ministry of Health.

Speaking at a meting on injection safety in Kampala on wednesday, besides HIV/Aids, Dr Amandua said majority of cases of Hepatitis B have been caused through use of injections.
“The number of infections of Hepatitis B through use of syringes is even higher than that of HIV/Aids and this is very dangerous yet its going on silently,’’Dr Amandua said.Dr Amandua attributed the high number of disabled persons to the use of unsafe injections. “If you go to Mulago there are a lot of people whose nerves have been damaged because of being injected with unsafe syringes. In fact if you find people on the streets who are paralysed and ask them, they will tell you they got paralysed after being injected,’’ Dr Amandua said.

Last year, the government introduced syringes known as the auto disabling needles which will destroy themselves immediately after an injection has been administered in a bid to curb the infections.

Making a presentation on earlier studies conducted in Uganda on injection safety, Dr Jackson Amone, the assistant commissioner for clinical services said that the frequency of injection use was found to be high, with most of them considered to be unsafe.

“The risk of medical transmission of blood borne pathogens was estimated to be high and insufficient supply of needles and syringes, unhygienic working environment and injections being administered by unqualified people contributed to this un safety,’’ Dr Amone said.

NEWS: 500 kids need heart surgery

2009-05-08T00:32:00.001-04:00

500 kids need heart surgery

Thursday, 7th May, 2009 from NEW VISION

The children who are to undergo surgery, pose for a photo with Buturo and other officials

OVER 500 children suffering from heart diseases are waiting to undergo surgery at the Uganda Heart Institute, the acting director, John Omagino, has said. He was on Tuesday speaking at a ceremony at Hotel Africana Kampala to send 30 children to undergo open-heart surgery abroad. The children were sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kampala and Gift of Life International. “We find it difficult to handle many cases of children waiting to undergo surgery. We are constrained by staff and resources,” Omagino said. He said surgery required special treatment and equipment, which the institute did not have. Omagino said the institute had carried out 300 closed-heart surgeries and 33 open-heart surgeries with the support of foreign partners. The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, represented the state minister for Karamoja Mrs. Janet Museveni as the chief guest. Mrs. Museveni called upon Ugandans to watch their lifestyles and nutrition, saying it would help to curb heart diseases. Rotary club publicist James Serugo said the club planned to upgrade the Uganda Heart Institute to enable it carry out more open heart surgeries. He said about sh50m would be spent on each beneficiary.

NEWS: Death as famine ravages Uganda

2009-05-07T00:51:00.007-04:00

Death as famine ravages Uganda

Wednesday May 6, 2209 from MONITOR ONLINE

A 46-year-old woman in Abim District, north eastern Uganda died of hunger on Monday after going several days without food. This is just one of the many deaths that are raising fears of looming famine especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

Lina Awilli hails from Angiro South village, Kanu parish. The district Speaker, Godfrey Okello, who told Daily Monitor of Ms Awilli’s death yesterday, said conditions are ripe for the incident to replicate itself in many parts of the district

“We need emergency response to address the situation,” said Mr Okello. “Towards Easter, rain became very heavy and washed away all crops and now the farmers have to wait for another season to plant the crops. Our people are very vulnerable, especially these elderly people; they are doing very badly.”

Abim is one of several districts in the West Nile, northern and north-eastern regions whose officials have cried out to the government over food shortage. Other districts include Amuria, Katakwi, Kotido, Moroto, Moyo, Adjumani and Arua.

The rallying cry by local leaders is an effort to stem famine-related deaths. In May last year, the MP for Dodoth County in Moroto district, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo, told the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Food Security, Population and Development that between April 25 and May 18, at the height of last year’s famine, at least 30 people died due to food shortage.

This year, the famine has been prolonged in some areas but the reported deaths are low so far. Katakwi district Chairman, Robert Ekongot said in late March that about 62,000 people were facing famine in his district, mainly as a result of poor harvests over the last three years following a spell of floods, drought and water logging in the area.

In an interview yesterday, the district Speaker of Amuria, Mr Robert Adiama, said, “There’s famine because of several factors like the drought spell which has hit the district. We actually need food urgently.”

Mr Adiama said the famine has reached a level where people cannot afford three meals a day. “What we need now are ways of helping these people to survive and how they can access seeds for planting,” he said.

Even in cases where the food is available, he added, it has become very expensive for the people to afford. “For example a basin of cassava which was costing between Shs2500 and Shs5000 is now Shs10,000. Not many people can afford,” Mr Adiama said.

The famine is partly a result of the poverty already biting a large part of the population, with 57 per cent saying in a late 2008 opinion poll commissioned by Afrobarometer that they had gone without food at one point in the last year and 55 per cent saying they had gone without water – up from 49 per cent in 2005.

In the West Nile district of Arua, farmers have not received reliable rainfall since September 2009. The most affected crops that are mainly grown in the district both for home and commercial consumption are cassava, maize, sim-sim and vegetables.

According to the District Commercial Officer in charge of Marketing, Mr Oboko Emmanuel, most families are too poor to afford the high priced produce.

“The problem is families cannot afford to buy food items expensively. So they have to survive on one meal a day while forego the rest,” he said, adding that the situation has worsened as many farmers are losing their crops due to the drought.

Mr Oboko said the high poverty level adds to the woes as many families cannot afford to live on one dollar a day (about Shs2200). “I don’t know how people will survive if this continues up to July,” he noted.

The drought stricken district used to receive reliable rainfall at least twice a year that was adequate for crop growing. Now, the district is importing the food produce from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lira, Soroti and Masindi districts.

The district is now experiencing variation in the rainfall pattern due to weather change with dry wind.

Even the border markets of Ejupala, Odramachaku and Kampala market in Logiri that used to be main suppliers of food items, is now operating on few food crops. It is mainly the Congolese who used to supply them but reports say the Congolese are facing the same drought.

Mr Oboko said the continued drought has also led to increase in food prices as many traders prefer selling their goods to South Sudan at higher prices. For instance, the market price for millet is now up from Shs600 to Shs1200 per Kg, ground nuts from Shs950 to Shs2000 per Kg, cassava floor from Shs800 to Shs1400 per Kg and beans from Shs1200 to Shs1600 per Kg.
The state minister for Disaster preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru, was however quick to say that government was aware of the food crisis in parts of the country and that his ministry had already put in place a number of interventions.

“We are giving planting materials to the affected areas. What is happening now is the rains came late in some areas which affected the planting season,” he said.

Mr Ecweru said in an earlier interview with Daily Monitor that Shs1.9 billion had already been earmarked to address the crisis.

NEWS: Uganda to conduct HIV survey

2009-05-03T18:42:00.001-04:00

Uganda to conduct HIV survey

Sunday, 3rd May, 2009 from NEW VISION ONLINE

THE Ministry of Health plans to carry out another national HIV/AIDS sero-behavioural survey later this year. “The survey taskforce is working out the modalities like mobilising the funds, but by October, we expect to have kicked off,” said Dr. Sam Zaramba, the director general of health services. He disclosed that the survey would cost about $5m (sh10b), which will be financed by the Government and development partners. A sero-status survey is carried out to establish the magnitude, knowledge and management of HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections. Zaramba said the 2004/2005 survey showed an increase in HIV infections among adults. This, he explained, is one of the critical areas that this year’s survey will focus on. According to the 2004/5 survey, 6.4% of Ugandans aged between 15-49 were HIV-positive. The HIV prevalence was higher among women at 7.5%, while that in men was 5%. The survey showed that 10.1% of urban residents were infected, while the prevalence rate in their rural counterparts was 5.7%. The central region had a prevalence rate of 8.5%, followed by northern Uganda with 8.2%. The survey also showed a high prevalence of other sexually-transmitted infections. Zainab Akol, the head of the AIDS Control Programme in the health ministry, said there had been an increase in the number of people accessing voluntary counselling services. About 20% of Ugandans know their sero status. The Government has been encouraging people, especially the youth, to test and establish their sero status so as to live responsibly Akol, however, said an increase in the number of people living with HIV and AIDS is expected. An estimated 135,000 people are infected with the virus every year. Nearly 650,000 Ugandans unknowingly live with HIV-positive sexual partners. Medical practitioners have expressed concern that about 85,000 people risk contracting HIV this year if they are not sensitised about the virus.

NEWS: UN calls for more effort against malaria

2009-04-28T22:29:00.001-04:00

UN calls for more effort against malaria

Sunday, April 26, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The United Nations office Uganda on Friday called for intensified national efforts to fight malaria, the leading killer disease in Uganda.

The Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Joaquim Saweka stressed in a statement on Friday the importance of long-lasting insecticide treated nets, indoor residual spraying; intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, epidemic preparedness and response in regions prone to malaria, as well as capacity development and advocacy as methods that will save people from malaria.

He said one of WHO’s priorities in Uganda is to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Health to effectively prevent and control malaria.

He said in collaboration with the Roll Back Malaria Initiative, WHO has developed the Comprehensive Malaria Monitoring and Evaluation Plan to combat the disease.

Mr Keith McKenzie, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative, said to complement the laudable efforts made to date in increasing the distribution and coverage of mosquito nets, there need for a rapid, nation-wide acceleration in their use in order to meet the National Malaria Control Strategy target of 85 percent of households owning at least one net by the year 2010.

“Distributing mosquito nets does not prevent malaria; using them does,” said Mr. McKenzie. The United Nations also urged Ugandans to manage especially their homesteads, well, by clearing bushes and stagnant water, which act as hiding and breeding places for mosquitoes respectively.
“Counting malaria out of Uganda will need concerted efforts of all concerned, not only medical personnel,” said the Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Hebtom Asmelash.

Endemic in 95 percent of Uganda, malaria causes close to 15 percent of all in-patient deaths countrywide. Children under five – who comprise 22 percent of the national population, are the most vulnerable to the disease.

On average, children in Uganda experience five episodes of malaria per year. In addition, the disease is a significant contributor to miscarriages and low-birth weight.

Malaria remains the number one killer disease accounting for 320 deaths every day. The theme of this year’s World Malaria Day is “Counting Malaria Out”. It is intended to intensify a campaign that engages partners in a comprehensive effort to count and quantify the progress and impact of interventions in the fight against malaria.

NEWS: Health Minister, MPs clash at Malaria Day Celebrations

2009-04-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Health Minister, MPs clash at Malaria Day Celebrations

Sunady, APril 26, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The Malaria Day Celebrations held in Apopong sub-County last Saturday almost turned chaotic, when the Health Minister, Dr Steven Mallinga and two MPs from Teso hauled accusations at each other over malaria and other government programmes.The argument was triggered off by statements made by Pallisa County [MP, Mr Louis Opange and Bukedea Country MP, Mr Oduman Okello Charles that misallocation of funds was partly responsible for escalating malaria cases in the country.The speeches of the two MPs who confessed that they had fluked the Malaria Day Celebrations concentrated on the findings in the 2006/07 Auditor General’s report which indicated that some officials in the Ministry of health used Shs410 million meant for drugs to travel abroad.In response, the visibly charged minister, attacked the two MPs describing them as a nuisance and sleeping Members of Parliament who were lousily politicizing government programmes.“These are sleeping MPs who have never raised any issues in Parliament. I have never heard OPange talking in Parliament. He is ever quiet but now he wants to give you an impression that he can speak.What is he talking about,” said Dr Mallinga who spoke in a mixture of English and the local dialect Ateso, for the message to sink in the populace. The Minister also accused the MPs and district councilors of hijacking government programmes like meant to improve the welfare of the locals such as NUSAF and NAADS among others.“The locals write their proposals but they are taken over by some MPs and councilors,” he said.The Minister Particularly pinned Mr Opange saying he had used his influence to entrust his wife with the distribution of cows which the government sent the area to improve the livelihood of the locals.However, Mr Opanga denied the allegations saying his wife lives with him in Kampala and that she has never engaged herself in the distribution of the cows in question.Dr Mallinga said the leaders in Teso should cooperate and promote development in the area other than criticizing the government. After minutes of squabbling, the Minister was then reminded to talk about malaria which was the theme of day. In response, Dr Mallinga said malaria remains a major killer and cause of poverty in Uganda and other endemic countries.He said studies have shown that Africa and Uganda inclusive lags behind development by 32 years because of malaria.“We are spending lots of money buying drugs which would have helped us in other sectors because malaria,” Dr Mallinga said.He stressed the need for a collaborative effort in the struggle against malaria.The World Health Organisation representative in Uganda, Dr Joaquim Saweka called for the scaling up of interventions that have been put in place to contain the spread of malaria such as use of insecticide treated nets.

NEWS: Religious leaders targeted to end malaria deaths

2009-04-26T20:31:00.001-04:00

Religious leaders targeted to end malaria deaths

Sunday, April 26, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Withthe fight against malaria still elusive in several countries including Uganda, religious leaders have now become a new target to try and combat the disease.The UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Malaria, Mr Ray Chambers on April 24 hosted a cross section of religious leaders from around the world in Washington DC, where the new campaign dubbed “One World Against Malaria” was launched.The campaign will engage faith-based institutions, working in partnership with governments and the private sector to cover every African with a bed net by 2010.Mr Chambers said that although malaria cases in Africa are declining largely because of increased access to insecticide treated nets, more effort needed to be put in place to combat the disease.In his annual report to UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-Moon, Mr Chambers said more than 40 per cent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa now has access to long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets compared to less than 10 percent in 2005. "At this moment, we can point to definite indicators of progress,'' the report reads in part. Uganda is one of the countries in Africa currently benefiting from a $3b UN Global Action Plan to reduce deaths from malaria to near zero by 2015. Malaria kills close to 300 people daily in Uganda, mostly children less than five years of age and pregnant women. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 25 per cent of Ugandan households spend their income treating malaria.Mr Ki-Moon has set December 31 2010 as the deadline to provide all malaria endemic countries essential interventions to control the disease including long lasting insecticide treated nets, indoor residual spraying and providing anti-malarial drugs like artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) – and intermittent preventive treatment among pregnant women. In the last three years, according to the report, more than 140 million mosquito nets have been distributed to nearly 300 million people in malaria endemic countries in Africa. "With over 240 million mosquito nets already financed for delivery between now and December 2010, attention has focused on reinforcing management structures within these countries,'' Chambers added. He however stressed that while malaria reduction objectives are within sight, a failure to increase momentum further may result in falling short of the targets that have been set. "The possibility of realising this scenario by 2015 arises not from aspiration, but from accounts of rapid intervention-induced declines in malaria deaths in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe and other countries. The Tanzanian island of Zanzibar already has reduced deaths to near zero. In Zambia, malaria parasite prevalence in children has lowered by 50 per cent. These examples demonstrate rather powerfully the promise of our mission,'' he said in his report.

NEWS: Fight against neglected diseases starts in Teso

2009-04-24T22:21:00.001-04:00

Fight against neglected diseases starts in Teso

Friday April 24, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

A campaign against neglected diseases, such as filariasis that causes elephantiasis and hydro-cell among men, has started in Katine Sub-county, Soroti District. The African Medical and Research Foundation [Amref] in conjunction with the Ministry of Health are jointly conducting the campaign.The Amref Health Programme Officer, Mr Joseph Otim, said in an interview on Wednesday that research has shown that the districts of Katakwi, Amuria and Soroti have areas harbouring mosquitoes that spread the disease. He said Katine is one of the affected areas.Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic worms that live in the lymph system, causing swelling and the thickening of the skin. For men, this could also mean the swelling of the scrotum. It has dramatic effect that appears usually in 15 years and above, from the date a mosquito bites. Mr Otim said the campaign forms part of Uganda’s national Child Days Plus programme aimed at boosting children’s immunity against diseases, de-worming children between the ages of one and 14 and providing Vitamin A supplements.Mr Otim said, “We are immunising children of all ages and pregnant women against TB, polio, tetanus, measles. ” He added, “We shall also be distributing tablets to the community against filariasis disease that causes elephantiasis and hydro-cell which are common in the districts of Soroti, Amuria, and Katakwi.” The exercise in Katine involves early infant diagnosis of disease among children from six weeks to 18 months, eye screening, treating neglected tropical diseases (such as filariasis, bilharzia and river blindness), and the promotion of key healthcare family practices like breast feeding, hygiene and sanitation.Mr Otim said the community members with eye defects would also get free treatment. The campaign that commenced on April 16, will last for one month with apparently 7,032 students getting de-wormed against intestinal worms. Mr Otim says they will traverse all the 66 villages in Katine and treat about 29,000 people free of charge from the above ailments during the campaign.

NEWS: Land wars threaten 30 districts

2009-04-24T22:19:00.001-04:00

Land wars threaten 30 districts

Friday, 24th April, 2009 From NEW VISION

LAND conflicts will escalate in at least 30 districts in Uganda unless urgent measures are taken to resolve them, experts have warned. A ‘time bomb in waiting’ is how the NGO Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) calls the looming land crisis as a result of population pressure and lack of proper land policies. The conflicts include border disputes with neighbouring countries, inter-district border disputes, wrangles between landlords and tenants, and tenants resisting acquisition of land by investors. The disputes over international boundaries include Migingo island in Lake Victoria pitting Uganda against Kenya, a 9 km stretch in Yumbe between Uganda and Sudan, the Katuna border area with Rwanda and the Mutukula border area with Tanzania. Disagreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo involve Rukwanzi Island in Lake Albert, Semliki, Medigo area in Pakwach and Vurra border area in Arua. The disputes over Migingo Island and Rukwanzi Island have already led to violence. In August 2007, Congolese soldiers killed a Ugandan-based British oil worker accusing him of illegally crossing the border. And last week Kenyan slum dwellers uprooted the railway line to Uganda protesting what they called continued Ugandan occupation of Migingo Island. Disputes over district borders exist between Moroto and Katakwi, Sironko and Kapchorwa, Bundibujo and Kabarole, Moroto and Lira, Tororo and Butaleja, Butaleja and Budaka and over Namatala swamp between Mbale and Budaka districts. In Buganda region, conflicts are expected to worsen between landlords and tenants, the latter increasingly facing eviction as land becomes scarce and its value goes up. Violent evictions have pervaded the area in recent years. Land’s ministry spokesperson Dennis Obbo argues that the proposed land amendment bill will solve many of the conflicts in Buganda as it seeks to give more protection to the tenants. However, the bill has been fiercely resisted, particularly by interest groups, and it has been shelved for now. In Gulu district, returnees from internally displaced people’s camps are locked in land disputes over boundaries as original land marks have disappeared and the elders who knew them have died. In parts of Ankole and Bunyoro, royals who hold large chunks of land are embroiled in conflicts with people who have occupied their land for decades. In Kasese, three indigenous tribes are fighting over a small portion of land that was not taken over by the Government for game parks or forest reserves. “The people of Kasese have been squeezed into ‘a corridor for survival’ as the rest of the land mass is inaccessible because it is gazetted as Government protected land,” says one of the research reports by ACODE. According to the researchers, the Government holds 65% of the land in Kasese while the district’s three tribes of Bakhonzo, Basongora and Banyabindi are left to share the remaining 35%. As a result of land scarcity, the Basongora cattle keepers encroached on Queen Elizabeth National Park upon their return from the Democratic Republic of Congo where they had been chased out. Violent clashes broke out with the Uganda Wildlife Authority which tried to evict them back into the survival corridor. “To say the least, Kasese is sitting on a time bomb, which could explode anytime,” says the report. In the Eastern part of the country, the Karimojong of Moroto accuse the Teso people of Katakwi of having altered the border line in their favour in the 1960s, when Curthbeth Obwongor from Teso was minister of local government. In 1966, the altering of the border caused heated disagreements in the area. The Karimojong petitioned then President Milton Obote, who subsequently cancelled the alteration and dismissed Obwongor from parliament. The dispute, however, flared up again in 2004 when then LC5 of Moroto, Terence Achia, locked horns with his Katakwi counterpart, Steven Okure Ilemukorit, over parts of Napak, Kodike and Alekilek which the latter claimed belonged to Katakwi. “These recent claims and counter-claims by politicians are threatening to inflame the conflict and could result into generalized violence,” the report says. The situation in Kibale, which has seen bloody disputes in recent past, is far more complex than any other region and dates back to colonial days. The colonial government gave part of the Kibale land to chiefs in Buganda Kingdom. When the so-called lost counties were given back to Bunyoro kingdom after independence, the Baganda landlords fled with the land titles. As a result, the occupants on about 70% of Mailo land in the area have no security of ownership. In addition, the Government has over the decades resettled different groups of people in the area. Immigrants now comprise 50% of the district’s population, up from 10% five decades ago. A rift between the indigenous Banyoro and the immigrants has become apparent in 1990s and has continued to grow. Bulisa district is another trouble spot where oil prospects are just the latest catalyst to a looming land war. According to the area MP, Birahwa Mukutale, the British colonial government took 80% of the land in Bulisa and Bugungu to gazzet it as Murchison Falls National Park and Budongo Forest reserve. The remaining 20% was then zoned into grazing land near the lake and land for cultivation near the park. This land has been communally owned and used for over 60 years. “Unfortunately, in 2004, Bulisa was invaded by nomadic herdsmen who do not respect the zoning. As a result, there are daily conflicts between cultivators and herdsmen,” says Mukutale. In addition, the herdsmen claim they individually hold land titles for about 40 sq miles in Bulisa. But the indigenous residents refute these claims, arguing that all this land is communally owned. What should be done? Officials in the lands ministry agree with the ACODE researchers. “The hot spots are many,” says Dennis Obbo, the ministry’s publicist. “We have found that wherever there is productive use of land along an administrative border, there is conflict.” Mapping the land conflict areas and noting the unique drivers of conflict in each area should be the first step to avert war, according to Onesmus Mugyenyi, the executive director of ACODE. “We carried out this research because we wanted to show the Government that conflict mapping should be adopted as a strategy for resolving disputes. It should be done on a regular basis so as to help plan interventions.” “We are hoping that the land policy will sort out many of the problems,” says Obbo. The government is also in the process of buying land from absentee landlords to help insecure tenants acquire land titles. “The government has so far bought over 76 hectares of land with money from the Land Fund.” The Bulisa MP believes that systematic demarcation of land would also be part of the answer. The Government is currently carrying out pilot projects in the districts of Iganga, Ntungamo, Kibale and Mabale. The World Bank is set to fund the project in another 28 parishes countrywide. In this exercise, all land will be surveyed and land owners will be able to secure their tenure by registration and acquisition of land titles. The high population growth rate, which goes hand in hand with climate change, is another area that needs to addressed, according to the Africa Peer Review. Estimated at 3.2% a year, Uganda’s population growth rate is third highest in the world. The average Ugandan woman gives birth to seven children in her lifetime. By 2050, Uganda’s population is expected to reach 120 million, three-fold the current population. “This is a serious challenge that affects the growth levels in Uganda”, says the 2009 Peer Review report. “It is strongly recommended that Uganda considers adopting and implementing a national population policy as a key element in its poverty reduction strategy.” As most of the land conflicts are in highly populated areas, a population policy might also be a key element in averting an escalation of land wars in Uganda

NEWS: Jinja runs out of Malaria, TB drugs

2009-04-22T00:33:00.001-04:00

Jinja runs out of Malaria, TB drugs

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Hundreds of lives are at risk after hospitals in Jinja ran out of Coartem, the recommended anti-malaria drug, the District Director of Health Services, Sarah Byakika, has said.

Drugs meant to treat tuberculosis have also run out, causing a potentially-fatal disruption to more than 1,200 patients on the district’s TB drug programme.

Interruption of TB medication increases the chance of resistance to the drugs, raising concerns of a future epidemic of virtually untreatable TB. “For two weeks hospitals in Jinja have not had Coartem,” Ms Byakika said.

“We pick our drugs from Buluba Mission Hospital but they are also yet to receive any and that has created a problem for us. In some units it’s out of stock completely. We are now falling back on quinine or other drugs which were phased out due to patients’ resistance problems,” she added.

Changing treatment regimes for patients could make both malaria and tuberculosis drug-resistant and lead to deaths, officials have warned.Ms Byakika said the district had resorted to asking for drugs from local health service NGOs, including The Aids Support Organisation (Taso) “because we cannot stop treatment for the patients already undergoing medication”.

Other patients, she said, have been referred to health centres outside the district for the drugs.The population in seven districts in the region depend on Jinja Hospital for advanced medical attention so the drug shortage is likely to affect thousands more people. National Medical Stores publicist Hamis Kaheru yesterday acknowledged shortages of drugs..

“Recently, there was a shortage of malaria drugs because government had been let down by Global Fund. However, we had issued hospitals drugs to last them for two months and unfortunately we expect rains to trigger off Malaria leading to low stocks. Hospitals ought to act fast amd make requisitions,” he said.

About two weeks ago, Gulu District also faced the TB, anti-retroviral (ARVs) and Malaria drugs shortage. However, the country last week received the first consignment of TB drugs worth Shs33m from Global Fund.

NEWS: Red Cross sets Shs800 million for polio immunization

2009-04-22T00:30:00.001-04:00

Red Cross sets Shs800 million for polio immunization

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has injected Shs800m in an immunization campaign against Polio and measles. The exercise, which will take place from April 25 to 27 and May 23-26 2009, is part of the supplementary national immunization days for polio set by the ministry of health.URCS is undertaking the new drive with the Ministry of Health. It will cover Kampala, Apac, Amolatar, Dokolo, Lira and Oyam. Others are Abim, Kaabomg, Kotido, Moroto and Nakapiripirit. Addressing journalists during the launch of the campaign in Kampala on Monday (April 20), the chairman of the Central Governing Board of URCS Mr Tom Buruku said the campaign aims at increasing social mobilization and access to health services to reduce mortality and morbidity from immunisatiobale diseases in the most affected communities,’’ he said.According to Mr Buruku, the districts selected to implement the campaign are among the 29 high risk districts identified by the ministry of health. “These districts have been selected based on their proximity to Amuru district which had a recent reported case of wild polio,’’ Mr Buruku said.He said over 1.2 million children are targeted to be immunized at the end of the campaign.Wild Polio outbreak was first reported in Amuru district in northern Uganda in February 2009 and to date, more than six cases have been confirmed.“Repeated immunization will ensure that children get full protection and stop the spread of Polio. Immunization will be conducted at different health centres throughout the country free of charge,’’ Mr Buruku explained.URCS General Secretary Mr Richard Nataka said over 8000 Red Cross trained volunteers have been deployed in the districts to implement the polio and measles campaign.“As an auxiliary body to government, URCS has been an implementing partner for the last two decades, contributing to some of the successes of the immunization programmes in this country,’’ Mr Nakata said.

NEWS: East Africa beats global financial crisis

2009-04-20T13:31:00.005-04:00

East Africa beats global financial crisis

Sunday, 19th April, 2009 from NEW VISION ONLINE:

EAST Africa will come safely through the global financial crisis to record at least five percent growth this year, the highest on the continent, the African Development Bank announced on Friday. The bank’s chief economist, Louis Kasekende, singled out Uganda as an example of East African states that were expecting healthy growth through regional trade and agricultural exports, as opposed to other African countries that are more dependent on oil and mineral exports. “East Africa might end up with the highest growth rate in Africa,” he told reporters during a workshop in Nairobi to assess the region’s financial needs during the crisis. “Uganda will record 6%. Kenya, given its diversity in export markets, will grow by between five and 5.5%.” Like the rest of Africa, the region enjoyed good growth for most of this decade on the back of relative political stability and a high appetite for resources by countries like China. Uganda grew by an average of 7.9% over the last half decade while Kenya grew by an average 5.5% in the five years that led up to its post-election violence in 2008. Kasekende said the knock-on effects of the global financial crisis are mainly hurting growth in African economies that lacked a diverse base of economic activities. “Countries that have been heavily dependent on exports of minerals and oil are going through a very difficult period,” he explained. The collapse of commodity prices has forced a number of international mining companies to close, leading to rising unemployment, the Bank predicted at a meeting in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, last month. “The worst case may be in the Democratic Republic of Congo where more than 350,000 jobs are estimated to have been lost in the Katanga Province.” In contrast, nations like Uganda that mainly rely on regional trade and exporting agricultural products, could hold up well in the face of the global downturn, Kasekende said. Comesa (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and the East African community trade blocs remain Uganda’s main trading partners. Exports to Comesa countries almost doubled in one year, from $284m in 2006 to $506m in 2007. Particularly trade with the DR Congo and Southern Sudan has risen spectacularly since peace returned to these countries. Exports to Sudan increased more than ten-fold between 2003 and 2007, and to Congo eight-fold. Coffee remained Uganda’s main export product in 2007, followed by fish, tobacco and tea. The chief economist said the East African countries had been pummeled by capital flight that wiped off nearly 40% of the value of regional stock markets last year. Local currencies also weakened sharply against the dollar. “But we have overcome that in most of these countries,” he said. “The second issue that could affect these countries is in terms of reduced inflows of remittances (from kyeyo workers). That is going to affect all the countries.” The Tunis-based African Development Bank last month announced a doubling of its annual lending budget to $11 billion to help countries deal with the global downturn.

NEWS: Uganda’s population explosion a time bomb - new report

2009-04-17T23:08:00.003-04:00

Uganda’s population explosion a time bomb - new report

Saturday, April 17, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE:

Uganda’s rapid population growth is putting significant pressure on the country’s food, water and energy resources, a report has revealed.

According to the State of East Africa 2008 report sanctioned by the Society of International Development (SID), the region’s rich natural resources are to take a severe strain as more ordinary people aspire for prosperity.

The study under the theme Nature Under Pressure, covers Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – the five countries that form the East African Community bloc. It also warns about the devastating effects of climate change.

According to the report, Ugandans are the East Africans who got to bed with the fullest stomachs, but the availability of food could be behind the country’s astronomical population growth.

An average Ugandan consumes 2,380Kcalories per day, while Burundians consume the least at 1,600Kcalories. Kenyans (2,150), Rwandans (2,070) and Tanzanians (1,960) follow in that order.

The SID report projects that East Africa’s population, which currently stands at 125 million, will meanwhile reach 190 million in 2030.

However, the biggest increase will come from Uganda, because the national population growth rate of 3.2 percent per annum is the highest in the world.

The information officer at the Population Secretariat, Mr Hannington Burunde says Uganda’s population, which currently stands at 31m, will reach a staggering 130 million in 2050.

NEWS: Highly priced malaria drugs causing more deaths’

2009-04-14T23:53:00.002-04:00

‘Highly priced malaria drugs causing more deaths’

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE:

The high cost of anti-malarial drugs has made the poor to become more vulnerable to the deadly disease, a senior consultant at Mulago Hospital, Dr Baterana Byarugaba, has said.

Dr Baterana said pharmacies and other suppliers of Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) like coartem should reduce the price of such drugs so as to save lives.

A dose of coartem in private health facilities costs between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000. Chloroquine, which was widely used in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria before it was banned by the World Health Organisation after it became ineffective, was much cheaper compared to ACTs which were introduced as a replacement.

A dose of chloroquine used to cost about Shs200 in private clinics and pharmacies. The accessibility of the drugs saved so many lives but since it become resistant to malaria parasite, those who cannot afford expensive drugs have been left at the mercy of the killer disease.

Currently, the Ministry of Health states that malaria remains the number one cause of ill-health and deaths in the country accounting for about 320 deaths per day. “About 80 per cent of Ugandans buy drugs from pharmacies to treat themselves before going to the hospitals but ACTs continue to be very expensive,” Dr Baterana said.

He revealed this during the launch of a new anti-malarial drug called Arco in Kampala on Thursday. The drug manufactured by Kunming Pharmaceutical Corporation, a Chinese company, targets children from the age of four months to 16 years.

Malaria kills between 70,000 and 110,000 Ugandan children annually. The clinical trials of the new drug were conducted both in China and Mulago.The former manager of the Malaria Control Programme in the Ministry of Health, Dr John Bosco Rwakimari, said availability of effective but affordable drugs would lead to the success of other interventions that the government has put in place to control the spread of malaria such as Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) of mosquitoes.

Dr Rwakimari said in the 1960s, cases of malaria dropped in Busoga, and Kigezi region when the government conducted IRS alongside mass treatment using chloroquine and asprin. Unfortunately, medical experts say, very few people today have access to effective anti-malarials.

Although coartem in government hospitals is given to patients free, the regular stock outs still force those who are stricken by malaria to pay for treatment in private health facilities.Recently, the National Drug Authority arrested several health workers who were engaged in selling coartem which was supposed to be given to patients free of charge.

NEWS: TB patients get expired drug

2009-04-14T23:49:00.001-04:00

TB patients get expired drug

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE:

A shortage of tuberculosis drugs, which has spanned six months in some hospitals in the country, is forcing doctors to resort to using already expired drugs to treat their patients, a Daily Monitor investigation reveals.

Daily Monitor has learnt that doctors at Gulu Main Referral Hospital are treating their patients using drugs that expired as long ago as February 2006. The drugs have been at the hospital stores more than three years since they expired due to the hospital’s lack of facilities to dispose them off, but the medics are not using them out of desperation.

DANGEROUS: Expired TB drugs at Gulu Hospital. PHOTO BY PAUL AMORU
Investigations by this paper reveal that both in-patients and out-patients at the hospital have been receiving the expired drugs for nearly three months now. Efforts by Daily Monitor to establish the total number of TB patients now ‘surviving’ on this toxic medication were not fruitful.

But well-placed sources at the hospital, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, disclosed that the expired drugs are mainly given to patients who developed MDR TB. Our source identified the expired medication as Streptomycin Sterile Injection.. “Drugs like Streptomycin Sterile, Ethambutol and Isoniazed tablets expired in January but patients who developed resistance are still relying on expired streptomycin injection,” the source explained.

“Following an expiration date is important, no matter what is in question. The facts are that the item (drug) in question has been found that under normal conditions it only remains effective for a set amount of time. After this time, the drug becomes ineffective, meaning it is pointless to even take it, and at times it can even become harmful,” our source, who is a practicing doctor, explained.

There is a high risk of TB transmission, which is actually heightened when a patient’s treatment regime is interrupted by a shortage or use of expired drugs as in the Gulu case. Since most of these patients had already developed multi-drug resistance (MDR) TB, relying on expired drugs at such a critical stage of their treatment can only lessen their chances of ever getting well.

Gulu Referral Medical Superintendent, Dr Agel Yoventino Akii, said while some expired drugs had in the past been used to treat people, the practice had now been phased out.“Sometime back the expiry date of these (TB) drugs was short and the hospital had to use it. But now we (Gulu hospital) have already received new stock and we are still considering whether to include new (TB) cases to receive drugs,” Dr Akii said without indicating when the new stock arrived in the district.

However, our sources insisted that no new drugs had been delivered to the hospital store and it is the reason the expired medication was secretly being administered to patients.

The Hospital In-Charge of Tuberculosis ward, Sr. Louise Anger, said the last consignment of drugs from the Directorate of Health Services for the month of January had their expiry dates for February and they are out of stock. “We collected 576 packets of TB drugs from the director’s office for January and we finished them but what we have are okay,” Sr. Anger said without indicating that they had received new stock after January.

News of a stock-out of TB drugs in the country broke at the time when the world was preparing to celebrate and commemorate the lives of those who have been affected by TB across the globe. Dr Sam Zaramba, the director general of health services, last month confirmed the shortage but denied reports that patients were being given expired drugs at any government hospital in the country.

The district Tuberculosis and Leprosy Focal Point Person, Mr John Opwonya, while downplaying the issue of expired medication, said there were no TB drugs in the store.Gulu district health officer Dr Paul Onek said, “The supply of ARV drugs is fair but for TB is poor. The last consignment we received was in January which lasted only for a month and now we are borrowing from sources with support from MSF Spain.”

Media reports show that since October 2008, Mulago Hospital has been experiencing shortages of anti-TB drugs. Mr Vincent Uma, a former police officer who is on his six month treatment in TB ward, explained that there was constant treatment although so difficult to determine if injections he received were expired.

NEWS: Health Ministry to carry out diabetes survey

2009-04-07T09:36:00.001-04:00

Health Ministry to carry out diabetes survey

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The Ministry of Health yesterday launched the international guidelines for the management of diabetes, with a warning that incidence of the disease and other non-communicable diseases “has sharply risen in Uganda”.

“We have also observed that the disease is afflicting more of our young population than before,” a statement from the Ministry of Health said. “Complications of diabetes are reported with increasing frequency at our rural health facilities.”

Although the ministry claims the disease is on the rise, Dr James Sekajugo, the head of non communicable Disease Unit in the Ministry of Health, told a press briefing in Kampala yesterday that there are no accurate figures on the prevalence of diabetes in the country, with bureaucrats relying on raw data from hospitals and other health units, as well as from traditional healers.

“It’s because of this that the first ever community-based Ugandan Non Communicable Disease Risk Factor Survey is going to be carried out,” Dr Sekajugo said adding that, “The data and information collected during this survey will enable the ministry to formulate an evidence-based national policy on diabetes.”

Diabetes is a disease associated with major complications like heart diseases, blindness and impotence. At the same function, State Minister for Health Richard Nduhuura said the disease was defying stereotypes.

“Contrary to the popular belief, it is not a disease of the rich; everyone, man or woman, rich or poor, young or old can be affected,” Mr Nduhuura noted.The Ministry of Health has established a unit to plan and coordinate all the non-communicable disease prevention and control efforts. Mr Nduhuura said the ministry intends to support this unit with the appropriate personnel and facilities.

NEWS: Govt doctors protest poor pay

2009-04-07T09:32:00.001-04:00

Govt doctors protest poor pay

Monday, 6th April, 2009 from NEW VISION

Senior medical doctors have petitioned the minister over the Government’s failure to increase salaries and allowances for doctors working in the public health service. The petition, signed by 66 doctors, was yesterday handed to health minister Dr. Stephen Mallinga at the ministry headquarters. Dr. Tom Mwambu, the president of Uganda Medical Association, accompanied by seven doctors, presented the petition. The team comprised Dr. Margaret Mungherera (mobilisation), Dr. Frederick Mutyaba (welfare), Dr. Daniel Zaake (deputy vice-president) and Dr. Edward Ddumba, the executive director of Mulago Hospital. “The new districts have been most affected with up to 90% not being successful in attracting doctors to take up medical officer posts” the petition read. “It is estimated that more than 60% of doctors in Uganda leave the country to work elsewhere within five years of graduating,” the petition added. Mwambu said their team had agreed to meet the minister next week to discuss ways of improving their remuneration, recruitment and retention of health workers. Mwambu said many doctors had been absorbed by the neighbouring countries especially Rwanda where they are paid better. He said doctors in the public service were stressed by a heavy workload. “One doctor undertakes work that should be done by six doctors,” Mwambu added. He said they would present a similar petition to Parliament Mungherera said they would not go on strike although there was a go- slow strike as more doctors leave for greener pastures.

NEWS: HIV-resistant Ugandans found

2009-04-04T01:12:00.003-04:00

HIV-resistant Ugandans found

Friday, 3rd April, 2009 from NEW VISION

A medical worker carrying out tests at the Virus Research Institute in Entebbe on April 1

A SMALL fraction of Ugandans have been able to naturally knock off HIV from their body, a development that could lead to an HIV vaccine, scientists have said. Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, an immunologist heading the Basic Sciences Programme of the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), told Saturday Vision that an ongoing study and a previous one at the institute had unearthed signs that some Ugandans may be resistant to HIV. They have special white blood cells that can only be produced when the virus attacks the body. However, even with the most sophisticated tests, HIV could not be found in these individuals, implying that the virus had tried to infect them but the immune system kicked it out. “We are seeing some immune responses but it is still too early to see if there is a lot of meaning to these responses,” said Kaleebu. “Such people are of interest to many researchers worldwide.” At the AIDS Information Centre in Kampala, the UVRI scientists are studying 70 discordant couples to see if some of them are indeed resistant to HIV. These are couples that have had unprotected sex for more than a year, one partner has had HIV for long while the other has not become infected. “We have set up a clinic in Kampala where doctors and counsellors do a lot of counselling and give them condoms to reduce risky sexual behaviour,” Kaleebu said. Despite early signs of resistance to HIV, Kaleebu said meaningful results can only be released at the end of the study. The five-year research, expected to be completed in 2010, is sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health through the British Medical Research Council (MRC). It is part of a multi-country study coordinated by the US-based Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) and involving Oxford University of UK. Prof. Heiner Grosskurth, the Director of the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, said: “A lack of ability to becoming HIV infected is extremely rare, but there is evidence meanwhile that people who have this characteristic exist worldwide, although in very small numbers.” Although they are so few, he said, studying them could generate new knowledge that would enable scientists to develop a vaccine. “Such work is going on with a lot of speed and effort in many countries, but there is no breakthrough yet! I think it will still take years until we have good vaccine candidates.” Earlier in 2002, Prof. Andrew Mc Michael of the University of Oxford and the late Dr. Anthony Kebba of UVRI announced that they had identified some eight Ugandans in Kampala and Entebbe, who were exposed to HIV but remained uninfected. One fifth of the discordant couples they studied showed some signs of resistance to HIV, but this required further confirmation. Mc Michael is involved with Kaleebu in the new study. Similar studies are going on in Kenya and the Gambia. Kaleebu cautioned that nearly all people are vulnerable to HIV and Ugandans should not relax simply because a few individuals seem to be resistant to the virus. “It has to be clear that this apparent resistance is not a common thing. If you are HIV negative and your partner is HIV positive we cannot say you are resistant and you cannot become infected. If you continue to have unprotected sex you might become infected in the long run,” said Kaleebu. Indeed, in the late 1990s some people in Rakai were reported to have become infected with HIV after being discordant for many years. On discovering that they were discordant, scientists had advised them to begin using condoms. Later, some of those who declined to use condoms became infected.

NEWS: ‘Hospitals cause drug shortage’

2009-04-02T00:30:00.001-04:00

‘Hospitals cause drug shortage’

Wednesday, 1st April, 2009 from NEW VISION

Hospitals and health centres do not follow procurement rules, causing a delay in the delivery of drugs, officials from National Medical Stores (NMS) have said. They said the shortage was also being caused by health officials, who diverted funds meant to procure drugs for health centres. “Health centre administrators complain of lack of money to procure drugs, but 70% of Government funds for procurement of primary health care drugs, is diverted to unauthorised expenditures,” the medical stores general manager, Moses Kamabare, said. He was speaking to MPs on the social services committee who yesterday made an unexpected visit to the National Medical Stores to find out if there was a shortage of drugs and whether drugs had expired in the stores. Kamabare said the stores had enough drugs to cover all the hospitals in the country. He disclosed that Mulago Hospital did not buy most of its drugs from the medical stores. “The Government allocated sh10b to Mulago in the 2006/7 financial year but when we checked our records, they did not procure any drugs from here,” Kamabare said. He clarified that district officials and the health centres did not follow the right procurement procedures. “Hospitals sometimes neglect the procedures. We send the drug requisition forms at least two months before they make orders but they fail to give the details of the drugs an sometimes the amount of money is not equal to the quantity of the drugs that are requisitioned for,” Kamabare explained The committee chairperson, Rosemary Sseninde (NRM), said most referral hospitals and health centres had accused the medical stores of failure to deliver drugs. She said the committee would compile a report to be tabled in Parliament for debate.

2009 TRIP: the Kiburara church grows (up and outward!)

2009-03-30T15:48:00.005-04:00

Hi Brethren,

Pray with us so that God may supply the resources needed for this worship centre. It will be as a training centre, worship centre,conference hall. We believe it will bring glory to God. Manypeople within the community have tried to give us their contribution and so far this is where we have reached. We are stopping here as welook for more funds and resources so that we may build another ringbeam and then do the roofing.

This church is 53ft x 64ft. We trust the Lord is faithful. This weekfrom Friday through sunday we are holding Women conference and everyevening we are reaching the community with the message of hope. Praywith us. Within the last two weeks two homes have been won to Christ throughour sponsorship program. Sponsorship program of the orphans and caregiven to their caregivers have given us an opprtunity to minister to them. This means that the worship center we are currently building isreally needed.

The medical did a great work in evangelism and everysunday a new convert is coming to the Lord. This is amazing. Childrenare being won to Christ and most of the children in the program a recommitted members in the church. I can i have future leaders oftomorrow. This is a great task but worth it and at the end of the day you become joyful and glorify God.

As a church we are so happy. This is to let you know that your investment as you send in yourfinances,there is a great impact in the lives of many even those who would be dying because of poverty.

May the almighty God reward you and bless your hands as you continue investing in His kingdom.

Pray with us.

Moses

NEWS: Meningitis hits Yumbe district

2009-03-30T15:39:00.003-04:00

Meningitis hits Yumbe district

Sunday, 29th March, 2009 from NEW VISION ONLINE

Health workers check the meningitis screening tent at Yumbe Hospital

THE insurgency in Sudan and Congo has destroyed the health infrastructure in those countries, leading to the spread of diseases to neighbouring countries like Uganda as displaced people seek refuge. Yumbe district health officer, Dr Alfred Yayi, says Uganda has always taken precaution by immunising its people, but the booming business across borders brings in many diseases. Between August and December last year, the World Health Organisation confirmed two cases of meningitis in Juba, Sudan, and three in Congo. Although Yumbe district carried out meningitis immunisation in 2007, a case was reported there on January 9. A 13-year-old girl died on arrival at Kulikulinga Health Centre III. Dr Yayi blames the death on the delay of the patient to report to hospital. “It is advisable to report a stiff neck and fever to hospital as soon as the symptoms appear, for quick treatment,” he says. The survey revealed that the girl had prior to this visited relatives in Drajini sub-county near the Sudan border. Currently, Yumbe district is experiencing a meningitis outbreak. So far, 43 cases have been reported since January. Of these, 34 were treated, four are still on treatment, while five victims died, according to Dr Yayi. “Although many of the cases were identified by symptoms, six of the victims were tested and confirmed to have the Neisseria germ which causes menigitis type A,” Dr Yayi explains. The most affected areas are Apo sub-county with 10 cases and Yumbe Town Council with eight cases. Others are Dra, with four cases; Kei two; Kuru five; Odravu three; Romoge two and Midigo five. The source of four cases was not established. A screening centre has been set up at Yumbe Hospital, while tests are done at Kuluva Hospital in Arua. Although the Ministry of Health was informed of the outbreak in January, nothing had been done by the time of interview two weeks ago. However, the district officials met recently and resolved that councillors should sensitise the masses about the disease to curb further spread. The officials also meet every Tuesday to get updates from health workers. Kassim Ayisuga, the deputy district chairman, advises residents to avoid crowded places like night clubs. He says there are more chances of catching the disease through droplets from an infected person. Next month, the district plans to immunise people aged five to 30 years in Apo and Yumbe Town Council. “Those below two years cannot be vaccinated as the vaccine may be harmful to their lives. Those above 30 years are expected to have acquired enough immunity. So they may not be at a high risk,” Dr Yayi says. He urges caretakers to take precaution since being above 30 years may not guarantee one’s safety after handling patients carelessly. Unfortunately, the health workers say the vaccine is too expensive to be used on everyone. The incubation period for meningitis, Dr Yayi says, is between one to 10 days. He says if treatment is started early, there are high chances of survival. According to the health workers, although there are various types of meningitis — A, B, C and Y — only Type A has a vaccine. However, they say the available treatment can be used on all types of meningitis. Patients are given IV chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone injection and oily chloramphenicol.

NEWS: Preventing TB requires community approach

2009-03-30T15:34:00.001-04:00

Preventing TB requires community approach

Monday, March 30, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Tuberculosis is trasmitted by airborne bacteria. For every single case that is successfully treated, 10 to 15 new infections are prevented. With an estimated 80,000 new tuberculosis infections occurring annually and yet only 42,000 get registered for healthcare, the threat of TB in Uganda cannot be under estimated.

And those who get identified and started on treatment, on average, lose four months of income because they will be incapacitated to work. According to Dr Francis Adatu, the National TB and Leprosy Programme Manager at the Ministry of Health, the economic burden to the family becomes “too much” especially if the patient is the main bread winner.

The World Health Organisation defines Tuberculosis (TB) as an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. And it is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease.

But in healthy people, infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms, since the person’s immune system acts to “wall off” the bacteria.

With only 50 per cent of the cases being identified, Dr Adatu says this should not be happening for a disease that is preventable, treatable and curable.

“The problem is that some people look at TB as a purely medical problem. This is not the case; it belongs to the community and efforts to contain or prevent it should greatly involve the communities,” says Adatu.

“Let them start with their own homesteads. Anyone in a homestead who has had a cough lasting for two weeks or more and not responding to ordinary treatment, should be supported to go for a check up to rule out TB.”

He adds that for every single case, that is successfully treated, 10 to 15 new infections are prevented.

Although drugs to cure the disease have been available for over 50 years, the emergence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has complicated treatment and control of the disease.

While the current vaccine BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) can protect children against the severe form of the disease, it cannot help adults. However, there are some WHO approved strategies that can help adults guard against infection. These include hospitalisation of patients suffering from tuberculosis and treating them effectively until the chances of them spreading the disease become negligible.

It is also advisable to avoid enclosed congested places with poor ventilation. For the HIV positive, preventive treatment can be got from healthcare providers. And family and friends need to minimise contact or take precaution when visiting patients on the first two weeks of treatment.

None-the-less, it helps a great deal if one concentrates on building immunity, staying healthy, eating well, and exercising regularly to prevent getting infected by tuberculosis or any other disease condition.

NEWS: Gonorrhea, syphilis resistant to Penicillin

2009-03-30T15:31:00.002-04:00

Gonorrhea, syphilis resistant to Penicillin

Monday, March 30, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Gonorrhea and syphilis, the sexually transmitted infections that have for long been treated and cured using penicillin have become resistant to the medicine, Health Ministry officials have confirmed.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr Sam Zaramba, confirmed last Friday that both gonorrhea and syphilis had become resistant to the first line medicine for their treatment.
“It is true the penicillin which we imported to treat sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea have become ineffective and we are in the process of introducing the second line medicines,” Dr Zaramba said.

He was addressing the press during the launch of the Medicine Transparency Alliance in Kampala.

Dr Zaramba said a number of diseases are increasingly becoming resistant to the widely used medicines mainly because of misuse.

NEWS: HIV/Aids threatens education sector

2009-03-24T23:41:00.001-04:00

HIV/Aids threatens education sector

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The impact of HIV/Aids on the education sector is damning and if not contained the consequences will be dire, a senior official in the Ministry of Education has warned.

“If the effects of HIV/Aids are not addressed, know that your brothers, your sisters, your children in school are going to be affected,” Mr Yusuf Nsubuga, the director for basic and secondary education, told journalists at the Media Centre yesterday.

Mr Nsubuga was speaking ahead of next week’s launch of the World Vision and USAID-funded Supporting Public Sector Workplace to Expand Action and Response to HIV/Aids (SPEAR) programme. The programme is also to be extended to the ministries of Internal Affairs and Local Government.

The education sector, Mr Nsubuga added, is facing an increase in staff attrition partly due to HIV-related factors. “We are experiencing low morale of the workers because when people get sick and cannot perform as expected, and the morale of both learners and educators is affected.”
While he said no studies have been done to establish the prevalence of HIV among the sector, the abundant stigma and discrimination indicated an underlying problem.

HIV prevalence has declined from 18 per cent in 1992 to 6.4 per cent in 2005.

NEWS: Access to clean water still a rare luxury

2009-03-24T00:27:00.003-04:00

Monday, March 23, 2009 from the MONITOR ONLINE

Access to clean water still a rare luxury

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: Residents of Acherer village in Moroto District scramble for water with goats at a borehole.

Access to water is a basic right, yet it is a right denied to millions of Ugandans everyday.
With over 34 per cent of Ugandans having no access to clean water, the country is unlikely to meet its targets to provide clean water to its citizens in line with the UN Millennium Development Goal target of 100 per cent coverage by 2015.

MDG goal seven requires countries to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation through improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities.

But figures from latest Value for Money Audit report by the Auditor General on the distribution of water to urban areas by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation says that although there is a 70 per cent access of clean water to urban areas, there is still a high concentration of people living in these areas who do not have access to clean water.

“Supply of clean drinking water is estimated to have risen from an average of 54 per cent in 2002 to 70 per cent in 2006 against the national target of 100 per cent set by the National Water Policy by the year 2000 in urban areas,’’ the report reads in part.

And as the population grows, water scarcity is likely to increase, and as the AGs report points out that with urban populations growing at a faster rate than water supply in the major towns of Uganda, there has been an outcry from potential water customers who expect water services, while those already connected to the system spend long periods without water.

Another report by the Anti-corruption Coalition of Uganda, an anti corruption watchdog, puts national water coverage at just 63 per cent.

It says that although the water sector is one of the highly funded sectors by both government and donors, clean water coverage is still a luxury to many Ugandans, especially in the rural areas and districts affected by conflict in the east and northern region.

ACCU’s findings are supported by similar statistics from the Population Secretariat in its annual state of population report.

For example, the 2008 report indicates huge disparities still exist in water converge throughout the country, ranging from 12 per cent in the least served district of Kaboong to 95 per cent converge in Kabale.

According to the report, the 10 least covered districts with protected drinking water, with coverage of less than 40 per cent are Kaboong, Yumbe, Kotido, Isingiro, Kiruhura, Bugiri, Kisoro, Mayuge, Manafwa and Nakapiripirit. While Kabale, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Ntungamo, Bushenyi and Kamwenge are some of the districts with the highest water coverage in the country.

With lack of access to clean water comes poor sanitation coverage, standing at a low of 42 per cent for rural communities and 26 per cent for urban areas according to the 2008 Population report. The worst affected areas are slum dwellers, fishing community and displaced persons.

In the ACCU commissioned report on Public Expenditure Tracking Study carried out in October 2008, in eight districts of Kabarole, Koboko, Gulu, Bushenyi, Rakai, Soroti, Kamuli, and Mukono similar findings were unearthed.

Report findings indicate that of the eight districts studied, Koboko had the least water and sanitation coverage, followed by Gulu and Kamuli districts.Bushenyi District had the highest coverage among the districts studied.

The ACCU report says coverage and use of safe and clean water is still affected by poor community behaviour in upholding good sanitation measures.

“In Koboko and Gulu, some communities are yet to appreciate the importance of using safe and clean water. In Koboko District for example, the use of existing water facilities is still poor. People prefer to use nearby dirty water than walk a distance to draw clean water from a protected source,’’ the report says.

Sanitations conditions, the report says is particularly dire during the rainy season when swamps are full.This, it adds, explains the frequent outbreak of water borne diseases like Cholera and diarrhea.

On the contrary, the report says that sanitation and water coverage for Rakai District is affected by long dry spells.

Despite the fact that water coverage is 68% slight above the national average, some communities walk up to 10 kilometers in such for safe and clean water.’’

NEWS:NDA clears questioned cold syrups

2009-03-24T00:24:00.001-04:00

NDA clears questioned cold syrups

Monday, March 23, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

The National Drug Authority yesterday gave a clean bill of health to the 12 cough and cold syrups for children that the regulatory body was investigating, saying they are neither poisonous nor dangerous if taken as recommended by a healthcare provider.

And while the NDA described the syrups as being of “good quality, safe and efficacious”, the regulator indicated that they are not a cure, saying they can only relieve symptoms.

“Cough and colds occur frequently in children and will usually get better by themselves, however, cough and cold medicines provide symptomatic relief,” read a statement signed by Mr Gabriel Kaddu on behalf of the NDA’s Executive Secretary/Registrar.

The NDA last week announced an investigation into the medicines after doctors in the United States, Kenya, and the World Health Organisation raised concerns about the efficacy of the syrups, most of which are used to treat coughs and colds in infants.

The syrups that have been under investigation include Actifed Wet (Cough and Cold) Syrup 100ml, Actifed Compound Linctus (Dry and Cold Cough), Ascoril syrup 100ml, Benylin Expectorant Syrup 100ml, Benylin Paediatric Syrup 100ml and Benylin with Codiene Syrup, some of the most popular on the Ugandan market.

Others are Bisolvon Elixir 100ml, Bro-zedex cough Syrup 100ml, Cadistin Expectorant 100ml, Linctifed forte syrup 100ml, Linctifed Paediatric Syrup 100ml, and Piriton Expectorant 100ml.

Mr Kaddu said yesterday: “There is no cause of alarm and panic among parents and guardians since the syrups are neither poisonous nor dangerous when taken as recommended by healthcare provider.”

“[The] NDA wishes to state that these medicines are neither being recalled, withdrawn nor banned from the market because there is no sufficient evidence to do so,” the statement added.

The agency none-the-less called upon all health workers and the public to report any suspected Adverse Drug Reaction and any quality issues related to drugs to the regulatory body.

The NDA also gave hospitals and other health facilities the green light to amend their lists of essential medicines, but the amendments are limited to the respective institutions.

The US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2007 warned against giving syrups to children after the deaths of three babies were linked to the toxic effects of cough and cold medicines.

A CDC study showed that more than 1,500 toddlers and babies wound up in emergency rooms between 2004 and 2005.

Consequently, the CDC warned parents against giving common over-the-counter cold and cough remedies to children under two years without consulting a doctor.

But Uganda’s statutory body insisted that they have in place adequate quality assurance mechanism to ensure that only good quality, safe and efficacious medicines are available to our population.

NEWS: Irish envoy irked by HIV rate

2009-03-24T00:21:00.000-04:00

Irish envoy irked by HIV rate

Monday, 23rd March, 2009 from NEW VISION

THE Irish ambassador to Uganda has expressed concern over the stagnated national HIV prevalence rate, which ranges between 6 and 7%. Kevin Kelly regretted that despite the many interventions by the Government, the prevalence rate had almost doubled in urban areas. He noted that although there were changing trends in the HIV epidemic in the last 20 years, the response was poor. Kelly made the remarks while handing over computers and accessories to AIDS focal persons from 50 districts at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Thursday. The computers, he said, were aimed at coordinating and strengthening HIV/AIDS programmes at the local government level. The Irish government has provided 1.3m euros over three years to support HIV/AIDS programmes run by local governments. Kelly added that the Irish government provides a total of 50m euros in aid to Uganda annually. Local government state minister Perez Ahabwe thanked the Irish government for its continued support to Uganda. Peter Muwanga, the chairperson of the Alliance of Mayors’ Initiatives at Community Level, advised the focal persons to send HIV messages cautiously and accurately. “If you do not want to use condoms, please keep quiet, but do not send conflicting messages,” he warned. The director general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, in a statement read by Rose Nalwadda, the director for planning, said the increase in HIV-infections, especially among married couples, should be checked.

NEWS: World health body lauds Uganda over polio fight

2009-03-24T00:18:00.001-04:00

World health body lauds Uganda over polio fight

Monday, 23rd March, 2009 from NEW VISION

Dr. Mallinga immunises Daisy Naiga, as her mother, Rita Namaganda, looks on

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Uganda for its timely reporting and response to the recent wild polio outbreak in Amuru district. WHO representative Dr. Joachim Saweka said Uganda set a world record when she responded to the February 25 outbreak within four weeks. The global response time is six weeks, he explained. Saweka was speaking during celebrations to launch the sub-national synchronised immunisation days in Luweero district on Saturday. The event was presided over by Dr. Stephen Mallinga, the health minister. Uganda, Southern Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Chad and the eastern DR Congo, have launched similar immunisation campaigns against the wild polio virus. The campaign will cover 29 high-risk districts in Uganda. To launch the campaign, Saweka, Mallinga and the Luweero Woman MP, Rebecca Lukwago, each immunised one child. Saweka urged the health ministry to ensure that all children receive a booster dose of the vaccine. “If we do not reach all children, the imported polio virus will stay in our country and re-establish the transmission. This will erase all the gains made since 1996 when the country became one of the first polio-free countries in Africa.” Saweka noted that the decrease in polio cases had led many parents to become complacent and not complete immunisation. Dr. Mallinga said the polio virus type that was confirmed in Amuru is linked to that which was recently detected in Juba, Southern Sudan. He advised leaders from districts on the Kampala-Juba highway to encourage the locals to improve their hygiene in order to check the spread of the virus. Polio is spread through contact with the faeces of an infected person.

NEWS: Mulago rots as doctors flee country

2009-03-23T10:15:00.002-04:00

This is a truly tragic story which reveals the need for further medical missionary work in Uganda. Pray that God would provide a door for His workers...........

Mulago rots as doctors flee country

Sunday, March 22, 2009 from MONITOR ONLINE

Tereza Aol, 49, lies on a thin, old mattress writhing helplessly in pain. This ward at Mulago Hospital’s Cancer Institute has been a ‘neglected’ sickbay of sorts for her in nearly a month. Her right breast is charred by cancer. She says she has not been attended to.

“They only gave me this fluid to drink,’ she said, showing a bottle marked “Morphine Oral Solutions”.Mr John Okot, the husband, says the syrup is for pain relief. But Ms Aol needs more than just that to assuage the pang. Her tear-filled eyes and fading, feeble voice underlined years of intolerable suffering.

Ms Aol, fighting cancer of the breast, arrived at Mulago Hospital on February 23 upon referral from St. Mary’s Lacor Hospital in Gulu District, and it was not until March16 that doctors performed an X-Ray to ascertain the cancer damage to her breast.

Dr Jackson Orem, the director of the Cancer Institute at Mulago said the Institute is grossly under-staffed, under-funded and ill-equipped to deliver meaningful health care to the growing patient numbers.

The Institute receives an average of 60 patients a day, with 85 per cent of them coming from the countryside. This drains the skeletal staff and imposes pressure on use of the limited facilities.

As Ms Aol’s case demonstrates, accessing treatment at the country’s largest and only national referral hospital is a nightmare for many people as doctors battle to keep the hospital running under the most adverse circumstances.Mulago Hospital, which has reported Shs50 billion arrears, is also short of health care professionals and basic diagnostic equipment.

The hospital’s director, Dr Edward Ddumba told a visiting team of MPs on the Social Services Committee on March 16, that he only had half of the 1, 000 doctors required to run the hospital.
Dr Ddumba attributed the scarcity of human resource to a de-motivated staff. Currently, government offers newly-recruited medical officers a gross monthly salary of Shs626, 181 as a result, the hospital has lost doctors particularly to Rwanda which has been offering more lucrative salary packages.

“Rwanda pays a doctor $2, 000 [Shs4 million] per month compared to the Shs900,000 that Uganda gives to [senior] doctors,” Dr Ddumba said.

Dr Ddumba, however, could not give figures of the number of health professional who have emigrated but said “the rate is alarming.”

According to a report in yesterday’s Sunday Monitor, the government reportedly spent more than Shs1 billion on the treatment of eight well-placed public officers. The money would have gone a long way in motivating the team of doctors and nurses at the hospital.

Against the backdrop of rising cancer infections in Uganda, the few radiotherapy machines at the hospital are reported to be too old and falling apart due to irregular maintenance.

Dr Joseph Mugambe, who heads the Radiotherapy department, said the cobalt machine which helps in external chemotherapy (the treatment of cancer) is now fragile due to over use. The device installed in 1995 breaks down frequently, raising the risk of death for cancer patients.
Dr Mugambe said the unit receives 120 patients every day, overwhelming staff using rickety machines.The hospital’s decay is more manifest in the Maternity or Ward 5C as it is commonly called. The ward is crowded and stinks, yet many expectant women lie on the floor and corridors due to shortage of beds. There is limited privacy overall.

Built to handle only 20 mothers a day, the labour suite today handles an average 65 deliveries daily.“This number is too big for us to handle. We are seeing thrice the number that we should be seeing and so some end up delivering on the floor and in the corridors,” he said.

Dr Kalisoke, who heads the hospital’s gynecology and Obstetrics department, said the hospital carries out some 20 cesarean births each day in a theatre of one bed.With few staff and rapid turnover of women delivering on the same bed, the possibility of improper cleaning exposes mothers to cross infection.

Dr Kalisoke said on average, 12 doctors, nurses and mid wives are available to handle the maternity section.But Mulago’s woes do not end at the maternity ward. A visit to the Special Care Unit, where premature babies are incubated, reveals a thin line between life and death for the new babies.

Only two of the 29 incubators at the unit are fully functional and doctors have to devise crude means of using the others to keep the premature babies alive. Dr Jamil Mugalu, a neonatologist (a pediatrician trained in the care of premature babies) said the unit receives about 60 babies every day forcing them to share the incubators.

The hospital administration is aware of these problems, though. Dr Dumba said the main reason for the disastrous state of the hospital is chronic underfunding and understaffing. The hospital currently runs on a paltry Shs5 billion annually.

MP Rosemary Sseninde, who chairs the Social Services Committee shocked at the sight of the hospital’s decay, said that although the medical workers are doing their best amidst limited resources, government needs to come in and increase funding to the hospital in the next financial year.

Dr Orem said with the poor state of health care, many curable diseases have returned with a vengeance like Tuberculosis, typhoid, diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses.

NEWS: Resistance to TB drugs worries experts

2009-03-23T00:23:00.001-04:00

Resistance to TB drugs worries experts

Sunday, 22nd March, 2009 from NEW VISION

AS the world commemorates World Tuberculosis Day (tomorrow), Uganda is busy strategising on how to combat the effects of the looming multi-drug resistant TB, which could reverse strides made in the fight against the disease. The day coincides with reports of severe TB drug shortages, which experts warn, will undermine efforts towards the World Health Organisation’s goals of detecting and treating TB by 70% and 85%, respectively come 2010. Dr. Henry Luwaga from the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Programme says: “We shall not only continue falling short of the global targets, but also risk doubling cases of multi-drug resistant TB which can be very tragic given that the other alternative second line treatment is expensive.” “The first line treatment for ordinary tuberculosis costs about $30 (sh60,000) per patient for eight months. The second line treatment is estimated at $1,500 (sh3m) for each patient over a two-year period,” Luwaga says.

What causes TB?

TB is a viral disease caused by germs that are spread through the air. They usually affect the lungs, but can also affect other body parts. These germs can float in the air for several hours, so people who breathe in the germs may become infected, depending on their immunity and no symptoms may show. Luwaga says the disease is treatable, but patients can die if they do not get proper treatment. “And it can also fail to respond to treatment if the patient does not follow the drug schedule and instructions,” Luwaga says. He says multi-drug resistant TB is one whose strains are resistant to at least two of the best anti-TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin, which are considered first-line drugs for TB. Apparently, not all the four common anti-TB drugs — Isoniazid, Rifampin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol are out of stock, but still the damage can be enormous. “The patient is started on all the four drugs but ends up with only the two that are available. This affects treatment. The reason they are administered in clusters is because they interact,” he explains. The Government requires about $1.5m (about sh3b) per year to buy TB drugs, but often relies on the Global Fund for malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. The mishap has pointed at poor management as the delay found no fall-back and this can be a lesson learnt as we celebrate the global holiday.

TB and HIV/AIDS, a double jeopardy:

According to the WHO, about 16% of new TB patients are HIV-positive. TB is one of the leading causes of death in people with HIV, with about 13% of AIDS-deaths worldwide. Joseph Imoko, the WHO national professional officer for TB, says in many countries with a high prevalence of HIV/Aids, TB cases have gone up. “TB infections increased by almost 12% between 2001 and 2005 and we estimate that 70% of Ugandans living with it also have HIV,” he adds. Nsambya Hospital’s Dr Maria Musoke says living with both HIV/AIDS and TB often leads to early deaths, drug adherence problems and resistance. “Both conditions increase pill count as either drugs come in clusters. Sometimes we are forced to stop ARVs for a while (particularly the first two months) for one to effectively adhere to TB drugs,” she reveals. But experts also warn of increasing resistance against ARVs. “Patients also tend to abandon treatment courses once they improve, which increases resistance,” she adds. Resistance to anti-TB drugs can occur when these drugs are misused or mismanaged for instance when patients do not complete their full course of treatment; when health-care providers prescribe the wrong treatment, the wrong dose, or length of time for taking the drugs; when the supply of drugs is not always available; or when the drugs are of poor quality. Research shows that people who are more susceptible to resistance usually do not take their medicine as prescribed, have recurrent active TB even after full course medication, come from areas where drug-resistant TB is common or have spent time with someone with drug-resistant TB. Musoke says if one suspects they have been exposed to someone with TB, they should contact a doctor or local health department about getting a TB skin test or special TB blood test. It costs at least sh25,000. She says there are low detection rates because of poor access to healthcare services, a limited number of skilled staff and diagnostic facilities. Besides, certain drug combinations, especially for children are hard to import. Up to 3% of deaths in children globally and 6% of children below five years in sub-Saharan Africa are a result of TB.

Burden of TB and multi-drug resistant TB

Globally, 9.2 million new tuberculosis cases and 1.6 million deaths occur annually. Dr. Francis Adatu-Engwau, the programme, says in 2007, the country reported 41,579 cases, of which 20,364 were infectious. About 80,000 new cases occur annually, and studies put the infection prevalence at 600 per 100,000 people, with the 20 — 45 age group mostly affected. “Unfortunately, only about half the cases are tracked, yet people infected with TB do not necessarily become ill but can infect between 10 and 15 people a year, if left untreated,” he says. However, Uganda has no local comprehensive survey to ascertain the problem. Adatu says the process, which is a prerequisite to qualify for the Green Light Committee funds that help governments procure second line drugs for the disease, is underway. Dr. Maria Musoke, the coordinator of Nsambya Hospital Homecare Department where HIV and TB patients are treated, says they are handling 11 cases of multi-drug resistant TB. “Since we have no drug alternatives, we give them drugs that are showing resistance. We deliver the drugs to the patients’ homes so they do not infect others with the resistant strains,” she explains.

Prevention of tuberculosis

The health ministry recommends that every child at birth be given a TB vaccine commonly known as BCG to reduce the spread of the disease. However, Luwaga says the vaccine does not provide 100% protection. It only protects a child from severe forms of TB, but it is highly recommended. Dr. Joseph Kawuma, a consultant with the German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association, says the only way of containing TB spread is early detection and treatment. He recommends a check-up when one gets cough for three weeks. “Health workers should look out for multi-drug resistant TB to minimise its spread. Healthcare providers can help prevent multi-drug resistant TB by diagnosing cases, following the recommended treatment, monitoring patients’ response to treatment and making sure therapy is completed.” An internet site, www.medicineplus.com, advises people to avoid exposure to multi-drug resistant TB patients. TB symptoms include body weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Uganda has embarked on a plan to increase the TB case detection rate from 49.6% in 2006 to 75% by 2011. It also plans to increase the treatment success rate from 73.2% in 2006 to 80% by 2010. This year’s theme, I am stopping TB and controlling HIV, aims to encourage people living with HIV/AIDS to often consider TB tests.

NEWS: Tuberculosis- Shortage of drugs raises the risk of transmission

2009-03-23T00:17:00.002-04:00

Tuberculosis- Shortage of drugs raises the risk of transmission

Sunday, 22nd March, 2009 from NEW VISION

PAUL coughs persistently as if he is about to die. For two years, the 40-year-old has been suffering from tuberculosis (TB). He was receiving treatment from Mulago Hospital until January 2009 when the hospital ran out of drugs. Paul went to Kawolo Hospital in Lugazi, hoping he would get the drugs, but they were also out of stock. Justin List, an American medical student, says: “I visited the TB wards at Mulago in January and there hadn’t been any pediatric TB medication since December 2008.”

List is in Uganda for a year on a US-funded research to learn about the progress of the disease. He says the TB drug, Ethambutol, that was being given to patients at Mulago had expired.

“There was a two-month initial phase treatment for only 12 people as of January 2009. But on March 19, when I visited the TB wards pharmacy, there had been no new medication received even after the stock had been replenished,” he adds.

Dr. Sam Zaramba, the director general of health services, confirms the shortage. “We know the problem is there, but there is nobody giving patients expired drugs. I will personally cross-check with Mulago and punish anybody doing this,” he says. Zaramba, however, blames the shortage on unfulfilled promises by the Geneva-based Global Fund. “Donors had given us drugs that will last till December 2008. The Global Fund had been promising to fill the gap, but when we ran short of drugs, there was no response from them,” he says.

Uganda’s problems with the Global Fund started in 2005 when all grants were suspended for three months, following mismanagement by the Programme Management Unit. But a source in the ministry blamed the ministry for the shortage. “We do not have any money budgeted for tuberculosis-related activities. The ministry depends on donors, yet many of them give empty promises.” Following the frustration of the Global Fund, Zaramba discloses that the ministry purchased TB drugs on a loan from Kenya to counter the shortage.

TB continues to be a major health problem in Uganda. According to a 2004 study entitled: Burden of tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda, Uganda has a high prevalence of Tuberculosis infection at 14% annually. The study was jointly carried out by Makerere University Institute of Public Health and the US-Ohio based Centre for Global Health and Diseases. The study, however, cautions that healthcare managers and TB control authorities believe the prevalence of the disease is much higher than the notification figures reveal because of under-reporting and poor access to healthcare. Mulago sees about 25% of Uganda’s TB cases and has been receiving 250 TB patients per month.

What does the shortage mean to patients? A drug shortage creates a dire situation in the country since many patients are suffering from TB. Speaking at the Uganda Health Communication Health Alliance Workshop recently, Dr. Francis Adatu-Engwau, the programme manager of the National TB and Leprosy Programme, said Uganda is ranked 15th among the 22 TB high-burden countries worldwide.

“In 2007, the country reported 41,579 cases, of which 20,364 (49%) were infectious. The proportion of expected cases detected was 50.2%, below the 70% global target. Only 75.5% of the 2006 cohort were successfully treated, below the 85% target,” he said.

List says a shortage of TB drugs means a patient’s treatment regime is interrupted, leading to a high risk of TB transmission. The disease is spread through air droplets which are expelled when someone with infectious TB coughs, sneezes or speaks. It is common in areas where living conditions are unsatisfactory with overcrowding, poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation. Such living conditions, coupled with high prevalence of HIV at 6.4% and lack of access to healthcare may lead to a vicious circle of TB interruptions and transmission.

List warns that patients with interruptions in TB treatment are at risk of developing multi-drug resistant strains of TB, which are difficult to treat with first line TB drugs Isoniazid, Rifampin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol, currently used in Uganda. “Worldwide, multi-drug resistant TB is more difficult to treat and the drugs are more expensive. It is, therefore, in everyone’s interest to have uninterrupted treatment,” List adds.

To counter the transmission, Zaramba says the Global Fund has finally released money to purchase anti-TB drugs to last a year. “The manufacturer has been paid and by next week, we shall be receiving the drugs. For the time being, we are still using the drugs purchased from Kenya,” he says.

NEWS: Obama picks Carson for Africa affairs

2009-03-23T00:13:00.003-04:00

Obama picks Carson for Africa affairs

Sunday, 22nd March, 2009 from NEW VISION

US President Barack Obama on Friday nominated the former US Ambassador to Uganda, Johnnie Carson, to be assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Carson is currently the national intelligence officer for Africa at the National Intelligence Council. In the late 1990s, he served under Susan Rice, the UN ambassador, as principal deputy assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs. Carson’s foreign service career also includes ambassadorship to Kenya and Zimbabwe.

NEWS: Drug shortage hits Uganda

2009-03-20T23:03:00.003-04:00

Medical officers dispense drugs to a patient at Kiruddu Kampala City Council Health Centre in 2006

Friday, 20th March, 2009 from NEW VISION

UGANDA is facing a shortage of essential drugs in Government health facilities, according to the latest survey by Uganda Country Working Group. The study, conducted over the past four years, show that 32-50% of essential medicines to treat common diseases like malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, TB, diabetes and hypertension are not readily available.

Consequently, a consortium of five Ugandan health civil society organisations on Thursday launched a nationwide campaign, code named Stop stock-outs. Their partners are Action for Development, Action Group for Health, Human Rights and HIV/AIDS and Alliance for Integrated Development and Empowerment, Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development and National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Networks in Uganda.

According to these organisations, an essential medicines crisis is looming in Uganda because a major stock-out is establishing itself in government hospitals and clinics.

A workshop on Health Sector Transparency and Accountability organised by Action Group for Health, Human Rights and HIV/AIDS in Soroti recently revealed that there is a national stock-out of the first line recommended drug for malaria – Coartem at the National Medical Stores (NMS). And, as a result, malaria was being treated by quinine in many of the facilities. In some cases, quinine for children was not available and health workers said they improvised by breaking the adult tablet into smaller pieces to give the children the required dosage. Sometimes, where adult doses were unavailable, adults were treated using Coartem for children.

One official from the district health office told the workshop that Soroti had received tuberculosis medications remaining with only three months to the expiry date.

The situation is the same countrywide. Patients are forced to travel long distances to other health facilities where they still fail to get drugs, opt for alternative medicines or, in the worst case scenario, just wait at home to die.

Doctors say this trend may lead to treatment failure and emergence of drug resistance. They complained that it can take up to 60 days instead of 30 to process and deliver an order to the district. In some cases, the districts receive drugs which have not been ordered.

Participants, who included health officials, doctors, administrators and development partners, blamed monopoly by the NMS as the major cause of delayed drug supply and called upon the Government to decentralise the drug supply and procurement mechanism.

Currently, districts buy drugs either through the conditional grants or through District Medicines Credit Line System, where districts can buy essential drugs from NMS on creditand the finance ministry pays later. Where drugs are not available, NMS is required to issue a certificate of non-availability so that districts can procure the essential medicines from elsewhere, like the Joint Medical Stores. However, a the workshop it was revealed that NMS in most cases fails to issue these certificates, making it difficult for the districts to order drugs from elsewhere hence the stock-outs.

Denis Kibira, the Stop Stock-outs campaign coordinator, says although Uganda updated its Essential Medicines List in 2007, it does not adequately provide for key medicines crucial for the treatment of diseases like cancer. It also does not cater for specific age groups like children and the elderly.

He adds that two-thirds of the Government health centres do not have the list, according to the 2008 Pharmaceutical Situation Assessment survey by the health ministry.

The Uganda Country Working Group is a collaboration of the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation and Health Action International Africa (HAI-Africa).

It conducts quarterly surveys on medicine prices and availability in the four regions of the country. This is part of monitoring the ongoing interventions by the Ministry of Health within the second Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP II) to increase access to essential medicines for all Ugandans. The Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda) represents HAI-Africa. “Stock-outs disproportionately affect the nine million Ugandans (31.1%) who live on less than a dollar-a-day,” Kibira said.

“To compound these problems, stock-outs force people in already dire circumstances to buy medicines at much higher prices from the private facilities.”

Medicines are often the largest health-related expense for poor families, he said. He calls for representation of civil society on the board of the National Medical Stores and increased transparency in medicine supply management.

He also wants the Government to live up to its commitment to spend 15% of the national budget on health care and to provide a dedicated budget line for essential medicines.

According to the survey, the availability of Coartem, the first line anti-malarial, was 28% in the private sector. Drugs for children were found to be consistently below 30% in the public sector, Amoxillin suspension was 13% and of Cotrimoxazole (Septrin) suspension was 29% and yet upper respiratory tract infection is a leading cause of death in children.

Availability of anti-diabetic medicines Glibenclamide and Metformin was respectively 46% and 25% in public sector.

Medicines for hypertension, like Nifedipine, was available in 46% of public sector facilities. “The continued low availability of children, anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive medicines in both public and private sectors is not a good prioritisation of medicines for children and chronic diseases during procurement and hence poor emphasis on the non-communicable diseases which are on the increase in Uganda,” the report states.

However, NMS spokesperson, Hamis Kaheru, wondered how they could tell there is a stock-out because they are not the only suppliers. “We supply only 30-40% of medicines to the Government health centres,” Kaheru said. “The rest are bought by district health officials using the money given to them by the Government.”

He said if there are any shortages, they should be blamed on corrupt district officials who either fail to buy medicines or sell some to private clinics.

“We suspect the biggest cause of shortages could be theft of medicines,” he said. He added that the solution is to follow President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to have all Government medicines embossed (labelled). “At NMS, we are already doing it. But since we are the smallest suppliers, it may not solve the problem.”

Kaheru also dismissed reports that they delay processing districts’ orders for medicine. He said under the new management that is almost a year old, they now publish delivery schedules. These indicate the date when the health facility placed an order and the day medicines leave NMS for the districts.

“Some districts delay to send orders and yet we follow our monthly delivery schedule,” he said. “Those who miss will have to wait for the next schedule when the truck goes to their region again.”

HOW MEDICINE GETS TO YOU

 The Government forecasts how many medicines will be needed to treat the population, based on the major public health challenges in the country.

 Orders and tenders are then generated by the National Medical Stores.

 Medicines are then purchased and stored centrally.

 District stores and local health facilities decide what quantity of medicines they need and then place orders for these at the national medical stores.

 National Medical Stores then delivers the drugs ordered and if they are out of stock, they issue a certificate of non-availability for the facilities to procure the drugs externally.

 Patients then receive the medicines from health facility pharmacies

NEWS: NDA lists syrups in investigation

2009-03-19T22:22:00.003-04:00

NDA lists syrups in investigation from DAILY MONITOR ONLINE

The National Drug Authority has named 12 infant syrups whose safety and efficacy it is investigating.

A spokesman for the NDA, however, says parents should not panic and pharmacists should not withdraw the listed syrups from their shelves until the investigation is complete.

The NDA investigation comes after doctors in the United States, Kenya, and the World Health Organisation raised concerns about the efficacy of the syrups, most of which are used to treat coughs and colds in infants.

NDA spokesperson Fred Ssekyana told Daily Monitor that the investigation is focusing on 12 syrups that are registered and on sale in Uganda. He said the NDA would not issue an advisory for or against any of the listed syrups unless investigations conclude that they are harmful or useless to children.

“We are dealing with sensitive issues; we cannot work on hearsay,” Mr Ssekyana said. “The raised concerns have to be scientifically investigated until we get an evidence-based conclusion.”

The NDA spokesman said the investigation is covering the following syrups: Actifed Wet (Cough and Cold) Syrup 100ml, Actifed Compound Linctus (Dry and Cold Cough), Ascoril syrup 100ml, Benylin Expectorant Syrup 100ml, Benylin Pediatric Syrup 100ml and Benylin with Codiene Syrup.

Others are Bisolvon Elixir 100ml, Bro-zedex cough Syrup 100ml, Cadistin Expectorant 100ml, Linctifed forte syrup 100ml, Linctifed Paediatric Syrup 100ml, and Piriton Expectorant 100ml.

The spokesman said the NDA routinely inspects drugs prescribed and sold in the country.
“This is part of the usual work we do only that we do not always announce that we are going to do it,” he said. “We do it randomly and in an intelligent way. The dispensers should not be in the know; otherwise it would defeat the purpose.”

A senior official in the Health Ministry yesterday called for a speedy investigation into the matter to help parents and health practitioners make informed decisions about which medicines to give or not to give.

Dr Jeremiahs Twa-Twa, the acting assistant commissioner for health services in the Child Health Division, said: “The advice that can be given to parents is that the best approach to the situation is to always consult with their health workers on what medications to give their children.”

Syrups are popular among parents and many doctors because they are sweet and therefore easy to administer to children, and can also be bought over-the-counter.

Many parents have, however, been left with a bitter taste in the mouth after the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2007 warned against giving syrups to children after the deaths of three babies were linked to the toxic effects of cough and cold medicines.

A CDC study showed that more than 1,500 toddlers and babies wound up in emergency rooms between 2004 and 2005. Consequently, the CDC warned parents against giving common over-the-counter cold and cough remedies to children under two years without consulting a doctor.

In Kenya, top health facilities, including the Aga Khan University Hospital, are discontinuing the use of such syrups. In a public statement issued this week, the chairperson of the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board said the reported syrups were neither being recalled nor banned.
Dr Francis Kimani, however, added that use of the syrups among children under 6 years “is not recommended but can only be used under prescription”.

Ugandan doctors started weighing in on the debate yesterday with Dr Vincent Ojoome, a senior consultant pediatrician, calling for caution in the administration of syrups to children.

“We are trying as much as we can to discourage the use of cough and cold syrups especially those that have sedative elements because they can be detrimental,” Dr Ojoome, who is also the medical superintendent at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, said. “They give a false sense of security.”

He, however, emphasised that some syrups – for instance antibiotics – are vital in the management of infection.