Michael Ssali
3 September 2008
Kalangala — Kalangala District has launched a door-to-door anti-Aids campaign. Dr Dona Kabatesi Director of programmes at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) was at the district's headquarters last Thursday to launch the Shs4 billion campaign.
According to the District Health Officer, Dr Hillary Bitakaramire, it is a four-year-programme, where health workers will go from home to home carrying out voluntary Aids testing and counselling.
Dr Bitakaramire put the fishing communities HIV prevalence rate between 27 per cent and 30 per cent. He said a proposal was written to have a more aggressive anti-Aids campaign, which attracted the attention of the (American) Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) who agreed to fund it through CDC.
At the time of its launching, the campaign programme had received the initial funding of $745,000, two double-cabin pick-ups, 12 motorcycles, and 120 bicycles.
Dr Bitakaramire said the campaign is aimed at benefiting 22,000 people about 6,500 of whom are expected to be HIV positive. The district has an estimated population of 300,000 scattered on some 84 islands in Lake Victoria. "We want to make a U- turn from being the district with the highest level of HIV infections to the lowest," Dr Bitakaramire said.
For those found to be HIV positive, he said, they would receive what he called a basic care package to prevent opportunistic infections.
He said they will be given medication, clean water containers, mosquito nets, condoms, Aids information brochures, and a referral card for enrolment for comprehensive care at the district's health units.
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