Catholic Church Takes Over HIV/Aids Project in Uganda

After eight years of providing relief to HIV/Aids patients in Uganda, a US faith-based organisation has handed over the project to the Catholic Church.

Partnering with Centres for Disease Control, the Uganda Episcopal Conference will with effect from tomorrow begin providing care and relief to more than 22,656 patients.

This follows the expiry of the Aids Relief Health Systems Strengthening project that has been giving aid to HIV/Aids patients in 18 hospitals across the country since 2005.

The programmes manager of the expired project, Mr Micheal Johansson, said: “We embarked on selection for a suitable organisation in 2009, and we feel strongly convinced that the Catholic Church will continue from where we stopped to offer relief to Aids patients.

The new project, dubbed Aids Care and Treatment Programme (ACT), will be implemented in various hospitals in 11 districts.

These include Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, Nyenga Hospital in Buikwe and Nkozi Hospital in Mpigi, among others.

Two hospitals under the Anglican Church include Kabarole and Ami Community hospitals in Kabarole and Amudat districts.

Speaking at the launch of ACT in Nsambya yesterday, the chairperson of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, said they are committed to reducing new infections by availing evidence-based prevention services to keep mothers and children alive.

With funding to the tune of Shs15 billion, the one year programme is expected to maintain 22,656 patients on Anti-Retroviral therapy and enroll 5,500 new patients, avail 34,000 pregnant mothers with prevention of mother-to-child infection services during antenatal, delivery and post-natal care to at least 1,741 HIV pregnant mothers aimed at preventing new pediatric infections and safe male circumsion of 7000 males across the country.

SOURCE

allafrica.com