Global AIDS Week: A Continent of Champions
By John Kiwanuka Ssemakula
Monday,
December 1, 2003
 December
1st another year, another World AIDS Day. Once again it is
time to take stock and review what has been achieved over
the last year. As always Africa is at the top of the news,
but worryingly, it is now jostling for first place with Asia
and Eastern Europe.
I say worryingly, for two reasons, the first is that this
implies things are getting worse in the world and the UNAIDS
reports seems to bear this out. "Worst year ever for
world AIDS" blared a news report. The UNAIDS report says
that more people are expected to die from AIDS in the coming
year because global efforts to control spread are failing.
The second may seem a little uncharitable, but this will mean
there will be even less money for Africa which has struggled
for so many years. The future indeed seems bleak.
But not as bleak as maybe 2 years ago. There is indeed hope.
This year more money than ever is being spent on AIDS. It
is not nearly enough, but compared to what was being spent
before, it is still encouraging. But it what is happening
on the continent that gives me the greatest hope.
In the past whenever people quoted Dr Piot or Jeffrey Sachs
talking about AIDS,I would ask myself, where are the champions
in Africa, where are the great men and women in Africa talking
about AIDS. Of course Nelson Mandela springs to mind,
but where are all the others, I'd also ask myself. In vain
I searched for them, until a revelation came to me. I know
where they are, not hidden at all, but right in front of us
all this time. It is the people of Africa.
The people of Africa are the true champions of AIDS on the
continent, because they are at the forefront of the fight
against AIDS. They may not get all the news headlines or the
media and press attention, but they are the true vanguard
of the troops in the fight against AIDS on Africa. They are
not fighting the enemy AIDS in some distant land, but are
waging the battle in their homes, villages, farms town, the
enemy in their midst.
I've always known this, indeed I am one of those soldiers.
But it was while visiting Uganda earlier in the year, this
perspective crystallized. While on trips to visit health
clinics in Rakai and Luwero districts, I found doctors,
nurses, health
workers busily engaged in providing health care to the population,
not just from Uganda, but in the case of some of the clinics
on the border, people from Tanzania. Despite very difficult
conditions, they were providing VCT, PMTCT, at Kakuuto Clinic,
they were proud to tell me they had managed to sensitise
almost 80% of the women in the area about their AIDS programs
and
were waiting to get them underway.
At Luwero clinic, I was taken around to see the start of
their VCT clinic. In Kampala I was privileged to attend the
Church of Uganda Bishops workshop on advocacy for "Adolescent
Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) & Rights", which
included addressing the very important subject of stigma,
and women's rights. One of the presenters was my brother,
Dr Paul Kiwanuka Mukiibi, also a medical doctor based
in Uganda.
I was at a 3 day conference in Mombasa, Kenya on safe healthcare
and AIDS in Africa, that was attended by Ministers of health
and other officials form 8 African countries. I was present
at the Africa-America Institute 50th Anniversary Award Dinner
held at the UN. Fittingly one of the awards the AAI African
National Achievement Awards "Honoring the people of Uganda,
for reducing poverty and the spread of HIV infection"
which was presented to H.E. Yoweri Museveni, President of
Uganda on behalf of the Uganda people.
And what of myself, what have I achieved? My colleagues and
I have continued to provide AIDS healthcare information on
the Medilinks website. In a recent 32 country survey by the
International AIDS Economic Network (IAEN), Medilinks was
listed in the top 10 most important sites for information
on the AIDS epidemic in the developed world (UNAIDS was number
one). In the same survey out of 700 AIDS resources, Medilinks
was in the top 5%.
On July 31st 2003, I testified before the Senate Committee
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions "Solutions to
the Problem of Health Care Transmissions of HIV/AIDS in Africa".
I can say that I kept my promise to the Church of Uganda Bishops,
who told me "We are sending you as our emissary to USA
and we are trusting you to tell the Senators about us. Tell
the Senators, we are also working very hard. We appreciate
any and all help you can give us in our fight against HIV/AIDS",
my promise to Sister Namperwa of Kakuto Health Centre in
Rakai District who said to me, " If you have these
auto-disable syringes and you can bring them to Uganda it
will be good. It will help Doctors at those clinics further
up country, they are just stuck, and are worn out dealing
with AIDS everyday. This is a problem they have no means to
deal with!"
The US Senate approved an amendment requiring $75M of $15B
Global AIDS Initiative go toward curbing unsafe medical practices.
Modest achievements in the grand scheme of things, but nonetheless
they they are.
A month later, during Labor Day weekend the Uganda North
America Association presented me the Philly Lutaaya Award
" for your contributions to alleviating the pain and
suffering of Ugandans coping with the devastating effects
of HIV/AIDS". I was even more proud to receive the award
alongside Dr Noerinne Kalleba and Dr Peter Mugenyi,
two true champions of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
But it is not in Uganda alone that this is happening. In
Senegal, a vigorous prevention and education campaign has
held the HIV rate to less than 2%. The South African government
has just unveiled the most ambitious anti-retroviral treatment
campaign in history. UNAIDS applauded Botswana's leadership
in the fight against AIDS, saying "Despite having the
highest adult HIV prevalence worldwide at close to 40%, Botswana
has managed to mount an effective response to AIDS over the
past few years. "Botswana's growing AIDS movement is
the result of President Mogae's leadership and openness on
AIDS coupled with the active involvement of people living
with HIV…." There are many more examples too numerous
too mention.
Africa is indeed a continent of champions.
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On February 19th 2004, The
World Health Organisation, Amref, Africare and
Medilinks will present "Africa
Health Day" to
acknowledge and highlight the achievements of the many successful
programs that have resulted in improved
health conditions for the children, women and men of Africa.
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