Spotlight on…

At work in Uganda for HIV/AIDS

In recognition of 2010 World AIDS Day, Canadian Feed The Children brings you this exclusive interview with Christina Sempebwa, Country Representative – Uganda.

Q: What types of activities happen on World AIDS Day in Uganda?

CS: Every year on December 1, Uganda honours World AIDS Day. It is not a public holiday but there are national events held in a selected district with speeches, songs and drama by various groups, and food. NGOs working in the HIV/AIDS sector exhibit their work and give out information pamphlets and posters. Most organizations print T-shirts displaying the theme. The day’s activities focus on keeping knowledge and education about HIV/AIDS alive and providing information on how to prevent the spread of the virus and live responsibly. There is emphasis on being open about it, living positively and taking care of orphans resulting from the pandemic. Reducing stigma is also a big focus.

This year’s theme of ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’ has attracted a lot of attention with organizations taking advantage of the political campaigns going on in the country in preparation for the 2011 national elections.

Q: What type of work are our partners doing to combat AIDS in Uganda?

CS: HIV/AIDS is a cross-cutting issue among all our partners in Uganda. This means that there are posters displayed about HIV/AIDS at all training workshops even if the training is not HIV/AIDS-related – such as information sessions about entrepreneurship or agriculture. We also always consider how HIV/AIDS will affect the performance of program activities during planning and implementation.

We have two partners whose projects specifically address HIV/AIDS:

Uganda Community Based Association For Child Welfare (UCOBAC) are implementing an HIV/AIDS home-based care project. This project addresses the needs of families affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, helping them and their community to overcome stigma, live positively, get involved in income generating activities and learn more about how to keep themselves and their families healthy. The project has elements of education, hygiene and sanitation at the household level and involves children in advocacy through a radio talk show and radio spots aired in the local language.

Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Uganda (BCM) currently has the largest pediatric HIV/AIDS education, treatment and research project in Uganda. They provide HIV/AIDS treatment to children and their families in over 31 health facilities in the country, working in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Mulago Hospital and Makerere University Department of Pediatrics. With Canadian Feed The Children’s support, they provide nutrition education, nutrition treatment and support to children and their families.

BCM is supporting families in suburban and rural areas (where there is arable land) by providing agricultural training and seeds to set up small kitchen gardens. This has been very successful this year with families growing vegetables for their own consumption and to sell at local markets for additional income.

Q. What types of successes are Canadian Feed The Children’s Ugandan partners seeing?

CS: The project in Bugiri has seen great changes in the lives of their beneficiaries with families being able to build permanent brick houses, raise goats and cows and achieve increased household income. With this income, families are able to have more than one meal a day and children are able to go to school. Families who receive support have safe, hygienic homesteads with separate housing for their livestock, a separate kitchen and a latrine. The beneficiaries feel positive and optimistic about their lives and the future of their children, they are actively involved in the project and some of them volunteer their services to assist others in the project.

There is a greater awareness about HIV/AIDS in the community among adults and children. The advocacy program has prompted the establishment of bylaws to address children’s rights, child abuse and other issues raised and discussed on radio. The support from Canadian Feed The Children has meant that UCOBAC has had the ability to raise awareness about these issues throughout the region. The response has been significant: people call into the station to contribute to the discussion with the children.

One big success was a call from the police child protection office from the project area asking to be included in the program. The next talk show featured this officer discussing child rights issues with the children. This was wonderful as it made the existence of this office clear to all in the project area and they are now able to access the police child protection officer.

With BCM, they have found that the nutrition project is a motivator for families to attend the clinic and bring their children. They know that although they will wait in long queues to see the doctor, the children will be provided with porridge and fruit during the wait and they will go home with a food package.

Children who have been affected by malnutrition receive treatment and are able to follow the ARVT. Even those who are not malnourished have commented that the children can now take their medicines since they have some food to eat. The project helps people to adhere to their ARVT and keep their appointed clinic visits.

Q. What remain their major challenges?

CS: The major challenge for all partners is the overwhelming need in their project areas. Whereas the projects make a significant difference to a large number of families, there are still more families that need support. It is always a challenge for the partners during beneficiary selection to decide who to take on and who is left out.

Another challenge is the motivation and retention of volunteers who are the drivers of the project in Bugiri (UCOBAC). This is always a point of discussion as these people are not project staff and are not paid for their services, but they volunteer their time. UCOBAC has a number of innovative ways in which they motivate the volunteers. These include providing them with bicycles, bags, T?shirts and training. UCOBAC also assist them with personal budgeting/finance and they provide counselling services (group counselling and individual counselling). The volunteers receive income-generating assistance from the project themselves, so they can relate to other project beneficiaries’ challenges and needs.

With BCM, the major challenge is the sustainability of the project. This is a project that provides nutritious supplements to people who have very little food or access to food. It is hard to assist these people to improve their income when their basic needs are not met. The kitchen garden project is one way to help people be more sustainably self-reliant.

While providing food supplements at the clinics increases attendance, it is also a challenge to keep up the nutritious supplements based on the sheer demand and the increasing cost of food.

Q. If you could share one thought with Canadians about the current situation regarding HIV/AIDS in Uganda, what would it be?

Uganda has had great success in its HIV/AIDS program over the years. In order for us to keep this status quo and even reduce infection rates, we need to keep the education programs going, provide support, treatment and care. This is why we keep HIV/AIDS as a cross-cutting issue in our programs ensuring that at no time do we become complacent.

HIV/AIDS affects all walks of life and should not be treated in isolation but taken as an inclusive part of a comprehensive community development response.

Want to help?

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