Uganda

100,000 adolescents with HIV

ALL IN to #EndAdolescentAIDS

INTRODUCTION

Every child has the right to a fair chance in life. Leaving no child behind is both a moral imperative and a strategic priority for the development of inclusive, sustainable and stable societies everywhere. In 2015, UNICEF worked with partners around the world to make that fair chance a reality.

Question

Review of literature and identification of case studies for evidence on youth mobilisation and technology. What mobile phone interventions or social media have been used by young people effectively to improve development outcomes for: a) accountability and transparency such as through the collection, monitoring and use of data b) improving delivery of essential services for young people (such as education or SRHR) c) promoting positive lifestyle choices and behavioural change, and d) supporting humanitarian service delivery in crisis situations.

Highlights

• A total of 232,914 Burundian refugees and asylum-seekers have arrived in the neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, as well as Uganda and Zambia since April 2015.

• The human rights situation remains worrying. The number of arbitrary arrests is on the rise since 11 December 2015, when attackers launched coordinated assaults on several military installations in Bujumbura.

Source: Reuters - Wed, 16 Dec 2015 14:20 GMT

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Uganda is suffering a shortage of imported drugs to treat HIV victims due to a weak currency and insufficient foreign exchange but the government is raising funds to cover the shortfall, a senior finance ministry official said.

Read the story on the Thomspon Reuters Foundation

Introduction

HIGHLIGHTS

• A total of 227,165 Burundian refugees and asylum-seekers have arrived in the neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, as well as Uganda and Zambia since April 2015.

A three year programme aimed at effectively reducing the spread and impact of HIV among men who have sex with men in East Africa ends this month. What lessons can be learnt by others doing similar work?

Last week at the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Zimbabwe, representatives of African key population groups were stopped at the airport on arrival and divested of their materials which were intended for distribution at the conference.

The region in which Kumi is situated has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in Uganda. Despite this, the communities here have a limited understanding about the virus and how it’s transferred, so people who are living with HIV face heavy stigmatisation – especially women, making it even harder for them to survive and support their children. I recently met a lady called Kasfer, who is 28 years old and lives in Kumi with her husband, Felix, and their two daughters. Both Kasfer and Felix are HIV positive.

The 2015 World AIDS Day causes feelings of loss and sadness as we commemorate the millions of people who have lost their lives to this epidemic during the past 35 years. However, on this occasion we also have good reason for hope. Public health experts have demonstrated the effectiveness of combination anti-retroviral medications (ARVs) in prolonging the lives of some 15 million people who now have access to them throughout the world, including in many of the low income countries.

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:16 GMT
Author: Alex Whiting

LONDON, Nov 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Juliet Nalumu, overjoyed at her first pregnancy, visited her local hospital in eastern Uganda for a check-up, it turned into one of the worst days of her life.

She found out she was HIV positive. "All the joy and happiness disappeared."

Lonely, and terrified of telling her husband of two years, the 26-year-old decided to keep it a secret.

New recommendations show how to treat all people living with HIV and decrease new infections

Harare, 27 November 2015 –The world is poised to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 – provided it can accelerate the pace of progress achieved globally over the past 15 years, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Already, much has been achieved. This year, the Millennium Development Goal that called for halting and reversing the spread of HIV on a global basis was met.

On estime que 15,8 millions de personnes sont désormais sous traitement contre le VIH, soit deux fois plus qu’il y a cinq ans, tandis que les pays adoptent la Stratégie d’accélération à l’aide de données permettant d’affiner la prestation des services de prévention et de traitement du VIH afin d’atteindre les personnes laissées pour compte

Countries adopt UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy to double number of people on life-saving HIV treatment by 2020

An estimated 15.8 million people are now on HIV treatment, a doubling from five years ago, as countries adopt the UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy using data to fine-tune delivery of HIV prevention and treatment services to reach people being left behind

GENEVA - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Fund have signed a US$10.5 million grant to address human rights barriers faced by vulnerable communities in Africa, and facilitate access to lifesaving health care. The grant is the first of its kind and will cover 10 countries including Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

FOREWARD

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and partners released the Saving Mothers, Giving Life Mid-Initiative Report, which shows nearly a 50 percent reduction in maternal deaths in target facilities in Uganda and Zambia in the first 2½ years of the initiative.

HIGHLIGHTS

 The Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) and the European Union have expressed serious concerns about President Kiir’s plan to replace South Sudan’s 10 states with 28 new states (presidential decree of 2 October) and have urged him to defer action on this matter until the Transitional Government of National Unity is formed.

KAMPALA, 12 October 2015 – The Government of Uganda in collaboration with the UN in Uganda and other partners will today mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC) with the launch of the ‘National Campaign on Adolescent Girls.’’ The campaign is aimed at highlighting the importance of investing more in the adolescent girl-child.

As World Health Organisation recommends antiretrovirals for all HIV patients, Uganda nets success in the Ssese islands with early treatment programme

Three years ago, Mablice Karuhanga was broke and bored. Then 27, he had lost his parents suddenly and with them his ties to the rural community in south-western Uganda where he lived. He decided to head east – to the Ssese islands in Lake Victoria – where he hoped to earn a living as a fisherman.