Nine people are infected with HIV every minute, a new report released by UNAIDS and World Health Organisation has revealed. Globally, the 2011 report notes that the number of people living with HIV has doubled in a decade to exceed 40 million for the first time.
The disease will claim an estimated 3.1 million lives this year with 570,000 of them being children. In the early 1990’s Uganda was praised for decreasing its HIV prevalence rate from 18 percent to 6.4 percent, according to the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey released this year by the ministry of Health.
However, Dr. Sabrina Kitaka at the 13th Annual scientific health scientists’ conference says unless something is done; at least 67 children will continue to be exposed to HIV/AIDS every day.
The pediatrician at the Public School of Health in Mulago adds that for every one person placed on treatment, two become infected yet several programs providing care and treatment are winding up.
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Christine Ondoa the minister for health says they have introduced new policies such as elimination of mother to child transmission instead of prevention. The Ministry is also revising the policy on treatment basing on scientific evidence.
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Dr. Sabrina adds that other new policies being emphasized include use of anti-retroviral therapy as prevention.
According to the WHO guidelines 2010 HIV positive patients should be started on treatment early when there CD4 count drops to less than 350. However, this has been hindered by the lack of adherence by HIV positive patients.
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Dr. Sabrina says that despite its contravercies medical male circumcision is a policy not because it’s the magical bullet, but it must be accompanied with behavioral change.
