By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has blamed an increase on the HIV cases in Uganda on poor health facilities which are barriers to ending HIV inequalities and accessing HIV services.
“It is a big challenge to achieve equity while dealing with HIV/AIDS in Africa since much of the primary health care facilities are not functioning very well.” UPC spokesperson Sharon Oyat Arach said
Arach was speaking to journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala on Wednesday ahead of the World AIDS Day celebrations.
On Thursday, 1st December 2022, Uganda joins the rest of the World to commemorate the World Aids Day, under a theme; “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV”
However, to UPC, it’s difficult to achieve this theme due to limited access of HIV services like lack of privacy times for persons living with HIV, inadequate information, ill treatment from staff, lack of professionals to handle specific HIV healthcare services and long waiting emerge challenges posed by poor health facilities.
♦️ And for complex diseases like HIV, Ebola and Covid-19, all available resources need to be strategically mobilized to meet the target goals ♦️
Arach suggests that government through her agencies improves on total awareness about HIV.
“This should guide how people can prevent the spread of the disease, its treatment and overall care of those who are affected without being stigmatized,” she said
Several scientific research studies show that people with HIV can live longer, healthier by taking proper medication while following all the precautions by the health workers which has reduced on the spread of the disease to others.
This according to UPC demands national global focus to make resources available and offer free access to testing, counseling services to the population.
In Uganda, persons living with HIV/AIDS walk long distances of about 20 kilometres to access HIV services at health centres. Another challenge posed is when patients reach at health facilities and find no drugs or any health worker to attend to them.
