Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As plans to fully operationalize Uganda’s first human breast milk bank takes shape, experts are warning about the likelihood of getting milk that could transmit diseases to babies if proper screening is not done. Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, a pediatrician at the HIV clinic of Baylor …
Read More »Defective condoms: Man sues gov’t after contracting HIV
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A man who allegedly contracted HIV and gonorrhea after using defective Life Guard condoms has sued Maristopes Uganda, National Drug Authority-NDA and the government for negligently supplying products that adversely affected the public. In his application filed before the High Court Division, Joseph Kintu demands …
Read More »Dapivirine vaginal ring gets nod for HIV prevention among women
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A vaginal ring that has been undergoing trials has been given approval by the European Medicines Agency to be used as an HIV prevention method among women who have tested negative. The flexible vaginal ring which contains Dapivirine, an antiretroviral drug, is inserted in the …
Read More »HIV response is still failing children- Byanyima
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The HIV response for children has fallen behind despite great progress made since the early days of the epidemic. This is according to the latest report on the progress towards the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS-Free targets, released as part of the ongoing AIDS-2020 …
Read More »COVID-19 pandemic derails global HIV targets
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | HIV targets set for 2020 will not be reached owing part to deeply unequal access to antiretroviral therapy and service disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to a report released by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS- UNAIDS, …
Read More »Africa waited for solutions to health crises in the past
Will it be different for COVID-19? Africa | HAILAY GESESEW | The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently noted that “researchers are working at break-neck speed” to understand SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They are also working to develop potential vaccines, medicines and other technologies that are affordable …
Read More »Food shortage threatens anti-retroviral therapy in Busia
Busia, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Several People Living with HIV in Busia district are abandoning anti-retroviral drugs due to lack of food. Many of the residents in the area are starving with no source of income as the government maintains a lockdown in all border districts, in order to control …
Read More »Community volunteers in Kasese get bicycles to reach out to HIV positive children
Kasese , Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Community volunteers in Kasese district have received a boost from Uganda Network of young people living with HIV. The donation of bicycles comes at a time when volunteers have decried the lack of transport to reach out to their fellow peers who …
Read More »From the coronavirus frontline, doctors recall battling S.Africa’s HIV outbreak
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | A deadly virus was ravaging South Africa when Belgian doctor Eric Goemaere first set foot in Cape Town’s sprawling Khayelitsha township on a chilly southern hemisphere winter of 1999. By then HIV had infected more than 5.6 million South Africans, causing thousands of deaths …
Read More »Maintaining HIV patients on drugs taking toll on healthcare services providers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | HIV care service providers are struggling to maintain total adherence to drugs by their clients amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. Essentially, all HIV positive persons are promptly enrolled on the lifetime antiretroviral medication to support their immune system from being compromised by the virus. However, …
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