UGANDA: Less donor reliance required for success in AIDS fight
Photo: World Vision\Jon Warren
A larger national allocation would improve treatment and care for children
kampala, 4 April 2007 (PlusNews) - It will take greater political will and more national funds to counter the poverty and poor national support systems that make children particularly vulnerable to the effects of the AIDS pandemic, delegates attending a recent conference on children and HIV in Uganda were told.
At the Fifth African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, hosted by the Uganda Chapter of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), in the capital, Kampala, last week, speakers stressed the importance of stronger leadership in education, health care and social protection of children affected by HIV.
"There should be a demonstrated move to translate rhetoric into action. One of the acid tests is the provision of national coffers, as opposed to excessive reliance on donor funds," said Prof Senteza Kajubi, patron of ANPCCAN-Uganda and the conference's keynote speaker.
"Donor agencies have played a commendable role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, promoting the care and protection of children, and supplementing governments' scarce resources," he added. "Nevertheless, the support they provide cannot be expected to be ad infinitum. National governments, civil society and citizens must assume their rightful responsibilities in this matter."
The three main sources of funds for HIV activities relating to children in Uganda have been the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank Multi-Country AIDS Programme (MAP).
Kajubi said corruption was still a factor in the poor performance of HIV programmes. "Many sub-Saharan countries ... have rated very poorly ... [in] corruption indices," he said. "There must be a concerted effort to fight corruption and the misuse of public resources."
The Global Fund temporarily suspended grants to Uganda amounting to more than US$200 million in August 2005, citing "serious mismanagement", but lifted the suspension in November after assurances by the government that it would look into the matter.
A judicial commission of inquiry subsequently recommended that several senior government officials be questioned with a view to prosecution for perjury and causing financial loss, but the government has so far taken no action against the alleged culprits.
Fact Box
• Nearly 1,800 new infections daily in children under 15, mostly from mother-to-child transmission • Less than 10 percent of pregnant women have access to services preventing mother-to-child transmission • More than 6,000 people aged between 15 and 24 are infected with HIV daily • Less than 10 percent of children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV receive public support services
Source: A Call to Action - Children: The Missing Face of AIDS
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Dr Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka, a researcher at Uganda's Makerere University, said the particular challenges in caring for HIV-affected children included specialised laboratory tests for diagnosing HIV, dealing with stigma, and a shortage of health workers trained to manage the disease in children. Long-term adherence to life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV), particularly when there was a high pill burden, also posed problems.
Uganda has an estimated 150,000 children living with HIV, which increases by 20,000 new child infections annually. The country has more than 80,000 people on ARVs, 6,000 of whom are children. Services to prevent mother-to-child transmission reach just 38 percent of pregnant women.
The government and its partners are finalising a five-year National Strategic Plan, whose priorities include adolescent and paediatric treatment and care, and the education of orphans and vulnerable children.
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Theme (s): Aid Policy, Care/Treatment - PlusNews, PWAs/ASOs - PlusNews, Youth - PlusNews,
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]