USAID/World Vision hand over ambulances to Moroto and Kotido Districts.

Friday, July 8, 2016

USAID/Uganda HIV/AIDS and health Initiatives in the Workplaces Activity (HIWA) Handover of Ambulances to Moroto and Kotido Districts.

 8th/7/2016

 Background

Uganda mounted a strong response from the mid-1980s that resulted in declining HIV prevalence rates in the 1990s. Despite this success story, it is acknowledged that the country is still experiencing a mature generalized epidemic and the current HIV prevalence is estimated at 7.3 percent among persons aged 15-49 years, with higher levels among women than men.

HIV and AIDS has serious economic effect on both government and private sector employees. The policy, oversight, and service delivery roles of government and private sector are interdependent; a disruption in employee productivity in one sector or level in the bureaucratic hierarchy influences the effectiveness of others. At a macro level, the decreasing ability of government offices and private sector to carry out their assigned tasks due to HIV-related illnesses, absenteeism, deaths, and early retirements have ripple effects across all of society, and have implications for Uganda’s efforts to foster economic development and social welfare.

 In Uganda, HIV and AIDS continue to affect the most productive segments of the labor force, affecting human capital, lowering worker productivity due to morbidity and time spent attending to affected persons. In addition to loss of skilled and experienced labor, there is a growing need for increased expenditure on health, and training and recruitment of replacement workers.

 The national HIV response is guided by the National HIV Prevention Strategy (2011-2015), the revised National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (2015/16- 2019/20) and the PEPFAR 3.0 focus aligned to the UNAIDS targets of 90-90-90. The goal is to achieve universal access for HIV and AIDS prevention, C&T, and social support in order to control the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The response has put in place prevention and control strategies at all levels. However, most of the interventions target the general population, leaving special population groups with high-risk indices.

 For the Karamoja region, the recent Aids Indicator Survey and Demographic Health Survey  show low comprehensive knowledge on HIV prevention in Karamoja, including condom education, compared to rest of the country. The response to the growing epidemic is further affected by low coverage of HIV and AIDS interventions in the region.

 It is against this background that the USAID/Uganda HIV and AIDS and other Health Initiatives at the Workplace Activity (HIWA Program) was awarded to World Vision to implement activities at the Workplace and in the Karamoja Region.

 Overview of the Program.

The USAID/Uganda HIV/AIDS and health Initiatives in the Workplaces Activity (HIWA) is a 5 year program funded by USAID. The Uganda HIV/AIDS and health Initiatives in the Workplaces Activity is a 5 year program funded by USAID. The program is a national program implemented in 33districts by World Vision Inc in partnership with RTI International (RTI), Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG), The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Environmental Conservation Trust (ECOTRUST) and The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG).

The overall goal of the Activity is improve the health of 1) the members of the UPF, 2) private security guards (PSG), 3) UWA staff, and 4) staff in selected hotels affiliated with the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) and the general population in Kotido and Moroto districts.  

This will be achieved through improved quality of care for those infected or affected by HIV. In order to achieve the desired goal and purpose, the activities are designed to meet three measureable results (IR), namely

 

  • Increased availability and access to comprehensive  HIV and AIDS and  health  services; 
  • Improved  quality  of HIV  and  AIDS  and  other  health  services; 
  • Increased uptake and utilization of HIV and AIDS and other health services.

 Project focus

The project focuses on the following interventions

·         HIV Prevention: HIV Testing and Counselling, Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision .

·         HIV Care & Treament

·         Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission/elimination of Mother To Child Transmission.

·         WORKPLACE HIV POLICY

·         PMTCT/eMTCT

·         BEHAVIOR CHANGE COMMUNICATION

·         Marternal Newborn and Child Health

·         Nutrition

·         Family Planning

 

Geographical Coverage.

The project is implemented in 50 Districts including Kotido and Moroto.

 

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