The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
At the Medical Research Council facility in Rakai, the highest HIV hit area in the country, Dr. Freddie MukasaKibengosays PrEP and all the new interventions in prevention are a good idea, but Uganda needs to focus on one technique which he calls the best – ensuring all those infected receive their treatments constantly, keep their viral levels undetectable, and therefore cannot transmit to cause new infections.
Kibego who is also the physician for Masaka Regional Referral Hospital says he knows the pressure that comes with implementation in a country like Uganda where a single health worker works for up to 16 hours a day.
He says Uganda is still struggling with ART (antiretroviral therapy) and should not add on the burden of PrEP which “we clearly can’t sustain now”.
Dr. Joshua Musinguzi who heads the AIDS Control Programme in the Ministry of Health says this is exactly why the government has chosen to roll out in phases. He says about 110 health workers have been trained so far to provide PrEP at the various demonstration sites.
“From just 6 sites, we are now talking of over 90. This is not the pace we want but we also have these people that we should test positive and immediately enroll on ART. We can consider those choices for prevention but priority is treatment.”
