The use of citizen media and technology to connect people and to tell stories about Gender based violence as well as violence against women, including HIV& AIDS disease that affects millions of families around the world has been the foundation of WOUGNET initiative “SMS Campaign“.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is "Getting to Zero." After 30 years of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, this year the focus is on achieving 3 targets: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.

More Prevalence in Women than men in Uganda

In emergency, the biggest percentage of those who bear the burden caused by conflict and disaster are women and children, yet they are the key stakeholders in promoting good health and building stable, self-reliant communities. Women of Uganda Network appreciated the power of ICTs in health, Agriculture, entrepreneurship and education related projects because of the advantages that ICTs present in terms of convenience, flexibility, cost effectiveness and interactivity .According to the Eight Millennium development goals, four are directly related to health issues & women  and these are;

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

In Africa, HIV/AIDS is one of the most common diseases affecting young people and one of the leading causes of deaths in many developing countries. According to the situation analysis - Uganda Gender Policy (2007) (http://www.mglsd.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Uganda-Gender-Policy.pdf )(.pdf format), the findings are a bit hopeful as it found that ‘overall there has been declining trends of HIV infection from a peak of 18% in 1992 to 7% in 2005. The percentages of women who are HIV positive are 7.8% as compared to 6.4% of men, among 15-49 year olds. HIV prevalence for females is 12.8% in urban and 6.5% in rural areas’ but recent statistics indicate that Uganda has approximately 150,000 children living with HIV. And there is an increase in new infections.

What needs to be done;

·         Adopt the ABC strategy (A- Abstinence; B-Be faithful; C-Use a condom)

·         Encourage Voluntary testing and counselling so that people know their status and prevent re-infection

·         Encourage behavioural change among the youth.

·         Sharing of experiences through drama, videos and focus groups to reduce on stigma

·         Doing away with negative cultural practices like female Genital Mutilation &  forced child marriages

Useful resources on HIV & AIDS in Uganda and Africa

1.       http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/04hiv.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

2.       http://theinterdependent.com/111201/on-un-world-aids-day-a-look-into-the-next-challenges-for-combatting-hiv

By Maureen Agena