Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), says it has supported Uganda in reducing the number of HIV/AIDS deaths from 78,000 in 2003 to 14,000 in 2023.
Development Diaries reports that the humanitarian organisation revealed this while closing its HIV/AIDS support programme in the country.
It is understood that since 2003, the organisation provided support to the Ugandan District Health Services by constantly reviewing its strategy to care for the most vulnerable people.
According to the organisation, it helped in introducing various innovations in disease management such as antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, specific care for children and adolescents, peer support groups, and point-of-care laboratory analysis to people in need.
The prevalence of HIV among adults in Uganda was 5.8 percent in 2021, according to the Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment, with prevalence higher among women (7.2 percent) than among men (4.3 percent).
This suggests a continued need for interventions to prevent infection in girls and women, as well as robust services to support the health and welfare of women living with HIV and their families.
‘At that time, the Ministry of Health didn’t really have any ARV treatment. And the only service was from MSF’, the organisation quoted 65-year-old Wadri Fennahas, a former HIV patient, as saying.
The Ugandan health authorities must now ensure that the progress achieved so far is sustained to ensure the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country is checked.
Photo source: MSF
