Uganda Health Marketing Group World AIDS Day Message
Today, UHMG joins the rest of world in observance of the 2011 World AIDS Day with the theme “re-engaging leadership in effective HIV prevention” through innovative private health sector approaches, community empowerment and greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS. This has been possible because of funding from USAID and in partnership with Ministry of Health, other implementing partners and district leadership. UHMG continues to stay committed to contributing towards the national efforts in HIV prevention and care to lead to Zero new infections among targeted populations through the population focused prevention interventions, there are Zero deaths among PHAs and Zero discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDS.
UHMG appreciates that as leaders, all Ugandans when empowered can contribute towards effective HIV prevention starting with themselves and in their communities. UHMG has embraced this through delivering affordable quality HIV prevention among specific target populations, HIV care and positive prevention among people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs). These target populations include: most at risk populations such as truckers, fisher folk and commercial sex workers (CSWs) and vulnerable populations such as youth, pregnant women, boda boda riders, children, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
UHMG works through capacity building for private health workers and community resource persons, promoting affordable quality HIV prevention products such as condoms and HIV care products such as cotrimoxazole, and causing desired behavior change through innovative multi-channel communication campaigns such as the currently running “get off the sexual network campaign.” This campaign focuses on educating individuals engaged in multiple concurrent relationships to get off the sexual network and get tested for HIV as one of the first steps.
For all these actions to have meaning and achieve the desired goal of having Zero new infections, Zero deaths and Zero Discrimination, UHMG appreciates that there is need to engage leadership at every level to support the initiatives through advocating for innovative HIV prevention interventions among all categories of the population; contributing and/or allocating resources for care initiatives and speaking against discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDs.
