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  • Title: Bigger expenditure on health required.
    Journal: Afr Women Health; 1994; 2(3):38-40. PubMed ID: 12318961.
    Abstract:
    The most serious health problem in Uganda is AIDS, and prevalence rates range from 2% in remote areas to 30% in cities. AIDS is often seen in infants who were infected by their mothers and who generally die by age 5. The disease is rare in children between age 5 and 14 years, at which time sexual activity begins and infection occurs. By 1993, approximately 115,000 children in Uganda had been orphaned by AIDS. Because of widespread poverty, orphans are at jeopardy for malnutrition and reduced educational opportunities. The health infrastructure, hampered by low spending and an emphasis on curative rather than preventative measures, has been seriously overburdened by the AIDS crisis. The economy has also been affected, since AIDS has taken a particularly heavy toll on those 15-40 years old upon whom economic activities, such as labor intensive farming and growing cash crops, depends. Investments in other areas are in jeopardy also as highly trained professionals leave work to care for the sick or become sick themselves. Declines in domestic income and savings have repercussions throughout the national economy. Widespread poverty also exacerbates the AIDS crisis, especially since poverty drives individuals into adopting risk-taking behavior such as prostitution. Domestic violence has also increased as wives have refused to have sexual intercourse with husbands whom they believe have HIV infections. In order to deal with this crisis, the entire Ugandan society must be mobilized. Alternative sources of income must be sought for the poor, income-generating activities must be available to AIDS patients and their families, health care expenditures must increase, and home-based health care should be promoted. It is absolutely urgent for Ugandans to translate their knowledge about the causes of AIDS into changes in their sexual behavior which will protect them from the disease.
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