25 September, 2015 by Buwembo David in Health News

Ministry of Health in collaboration with Office of African First Ladies Association Uganda (OAFLA) have launched regional campaigns on Elimination to Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) in Soroti, Teso Region to galvanise the people of Uganda and make them commit to having an HIV free generation. This campaign was launched by the First Lady of Uganda, Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni, the champion of eMTCT campaigns. 

Over 50 children born HIV-free shared testimonies of how their mothers attended antenatal care and sought medical treatment and as a result, they were born HIV-free. “This is such a beautiful testimony by the children in their own words, proclaiming their mothers as their heroes, because they made it possible for them to be born HIV-free” the First Lady told the mammoth gathering.

Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni advised couples to seek relevant information before enrolling for family planning to avoid problems. She encouraged pregnant women to attend at least four antenatal clinics so that they are attended to by professionals. 

She also reminded fathers of their duty to their wives and the children they bring into the world and appealed them to walk together with their wives during the nine months pregnancy journey so that they bring forth children free of HIV/AIDS.

Minister of State for Primary Health Care, Hon. Sarah Opendi underscored the Government’s efforts in collaboration with key stakeholders such as religious and cultural leaders, development partners among many others in reducing the number of children born with HIV in Uganda. “The number of children born with HIV in Uganda has reduced tremendously to 9,500 since the rolling out of the regional EMTCT  campaigns in 2013” she highlighted during the stakeholders meeting.

Hon. Opendi also encouraged couples to always test before committing themselves to marriage and parents to go for regular check-ups. She cautioned Ugandans against complacency and comparing HIV/AIDS with other diseases which require only a few drugs to cure because for AIDS one has to take drugs for life. “Prevention, prevention and prevention is the only way to go for AIDS” she stressed.

The National theme for the campaign is 'Stand out! Participate! And be Counted! Have an HIV free baby and the regional theme for Teso region was Keeping Families in care.