By Milly B. Babalanda
I take the honour to welcome back all those who attended the World Aids Day event held in Rakai district last Friday (December 1). I especially thank H.E the President for personally gracing the occasion, a testament of his unwavering commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS and his will to see the last of the scourge in accordance with the the Presidential Fast-Track Initiative (PFTI) to end AIDS by 2030 as launched on June 6th 2017.
The world commemorates World AIDS Day to show support and solidarity for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS.
After four decades of HIV/AIDS, we were not only celebrating the World AIDS day, but recognizing Rakai as the epicentre of the AIDS pandemic before it was discovered in the entire country. It was a celebration of the NRM government’s achievements of fighting this calamity and proving to the world that it can be put to an end. It was in Rakai that the terrible face of the disease was unveiled.
President Museveni, amidst his busy schedule, found time to officiate at the important day when we took stock of where we have come from and chart a way forward. For the last three years, the President has consistently presided over the event and as Minister charged with supervising the Uganda AIDS Commission, I cannot take that gesture for granted. His presence energizes the efforts of all actors in the fight against the AIDS pandemic in this country.
I want to demonstrate how President Museveni has exhibited excellent leadership in the face of the scourge, and why other leaders have a lot to learn from him.
President Museveni has prioritised the fight against HIV and AIDS since coming to power in 1986 and, thus, restored the hope that Ugandans had lost in the war against AIDS.
His efforts in working with and supporting the scientists and other players in the fight against HIV and AIDS enabled Uganda to bring down the HIV prevalence from 18% in the 1990s when the UAC had just been created to now 5%. For this, we should be grateful to the President and build on from there in our own way so that the gains we have attained are not lost and we do not relapse to the 1990s situation. Many families have scars from that time! Those were times when people still thought of AIDS as being caused by witchcraft. There was no lifesaving antiretroviral therapy and there was a lot of stigma.
But through consistent mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS messages and giving voice to a taboo subject by the President, we all opened up and people spoke about their status freely while would-be victims understood that the only and best safety net was to prevent acquiring and spreading the disease. I believe that at this turn in time, nobody can claim not to hear or see messages on the disease, except the very young ones.
We are now at a stage where complacence is the biggest risk factor, wherein people feel that AIDS is nolonger a big threat since they can survive on lifeprolonging treatment. While that is true and a very good thing, it’s misleading.
AS Government, together with our partners, we also prefer to take care of those who are exposed to the disease unwittingly as opposed to those who take things for granted and end becoming a burden on the healthcare system and the economy. We have experienced the dynamics of the disease long enough to know understand that it’s not only dangerous to life but it distabilises families, communities, nations and the world at large. Had AIDS not surfaced, we would be at another level in healthcare provision since the resources would go to treating other ailments and conditions.
In his unwavering stance in the fight against the scourge, the President has, therefore, killed two birds with one stone-caused the fall in cases and increased response to treat the infected and sick, and enabled us to spare money for other health-related and on-health related interventions for the people. Real wisdom!
It is said that behind every successful man there is a woman. I would like to appreciate the First Lady, Maama Janet Kataha Museveni who has equally contributed much in the fight against this deadly disease. Her efforts involving HIV positive women and children orphaned by the disease under The Aids Support Organisation (TASO) will be remembered forever.
Uganda has AIDS orphan but the success story is that majority of them live healthy and productive lives having started early on treatment for those that were born with the virus and others staying safe because of learning from the unfortunate experience of their parents.
All this stems from the proactive, systematic leadership and guidance of the President in the HIV fight especially focusing on elimination of mother-to-child transmission.
Nevertheless, despite the achievements, Uganda still has a high burden of HIV infections among young women aged 15-24 which is four times higher than that of their male counterparts. That means that we still have a lot of work to do to stem this new trend. Through initiatives that the NRM government has put in place like Emyooga, the Parish Development Model (PDM), Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and others, every young person who is of age will be able to defeat poverty and keep away from some of the behavioral engagements like early sex that propel HIV prevalence among the young people.
I pose a challenge to other leaders to emulate H.E the President in this fight. It’s unfortunate that we have a challenge of leaders not supporting the HIV awareness and prevention campaign to mobilise and sensitize our people. The laziness or lack of concern must stop! It is my appeal to all leaders at national and sub-national level to continue to focus on these strategies as we run the last mile of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Resident District/City Commissioners (RD/CCs) as Heads of Taskforces in your respective jurisdictions, please, take charge and reverse the trend!
I wish to thank our partners various partners who have walked this journey with Uganda. Specifically, I thank the United States Government through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that has invested greatly, directly here, but also through upstream mechanisms such as the Global Fund. The new US Ambassador, H.E William Popp has communicated the United States Government willingness and continued support to the AIDS agenda.
I thank UNAIDS whose Executive Director, Hon. Eng. Winnie Byanyima, came to reassure us of the continued support.
I thank Uganda AIDS Commission for coordinating the HIV multi-sectoral response for the past 30 years with evident results especially the re-invigoration and refocus under the leadership of Dr. Nelson Musoba as Director General.
With the continued leadership of President Museveni, our tried and tested methods against HIV/AIDS will not be disrupted and this will enable us attain the 2030 target. Congratulations to all those (individuals and organisations) that won awards at the Rakai function for their achievement and contribution to the struggle!
The author is the Minister for the Presidency
