HIV/AIDS in Uganda

HIV status in Canada is something people tend not to disclose, unless they are activists. To have HIV in Canada is, for the most part, something people feel ashamed of. Those who are HIV positive are often seen as being drug abusers, promiscuous, or prostitutes.

In Uganda, however, HIV is so prevalent it affects nearly everyone. Mothers accidentally pass it to their unborn children; men give it to wives and girlfriends; nurses get pricked by syringes; and people injured in (the frequent) car accidents receive HIV from other passengers. The sheer number of people, both those who look healthy, and those who look ill, is huge. Stigma, for the most part, is gone. The AIDS clinic at Mengo Hospital is constantly full. People arrive early in the morning and wait all day to see counsellors, meet with a doctor, get tested, receive free anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), and those who test positive have the opportunity for a CD4 count.

The Pharmacy

As each new patient is admitted they meet with a counsellor, who discusses modes of HIV transmission and asks what they will do if they test positive. A major emphasis of these meetings is positive living. The counsellors say - just because you are HIV positive, doesn’t mean you will die, with healthy living, proper protections, and a balanced diet, people do not get AIDS for a long time. Patients are asked to make sure they are sleeping under bed netting to avoid malaria, nets are provided to those who cannot afford them.

The Waiting Room

The patient then has blood drawn in the lab and 10 minutes later the counsellor will tell them their status. It boggles my mind, that within 10 minutes a person’s life will be totally changed. Nearly everyone goes for testing, especially because couples are legally required to be tested before they can get married.

While people with HIV can avoid getting AIDS for a long time, there are many patients at the clinic who are very ill! A woman, Jane, came in yesterday. She was so well dressed, like everyone in Uganda, and I guessed her age to be around 50. She is 29.
Due to her battle not only with AIDS, but also TB, she had lost a lot of weight since her last visit, the scales showed her weight to be 44 kgs. Jane is just one example of people who, despite taking all prescribed medications, is literally wasting away.

Even though many people Kampala are educated about HIV and its transmission, there are people trying to profit from it. Henry, was tested the first time at Mulago hospital, on the way home with his results, he stopped by a small church. For a large fee and the correct stamps on his positive test they would pray for a miracle for him. He came to Mengo hospital looking for the official stamp. Jennifer, one of the counsellors, explained to him, that some people will take advantage of those that are sick, and that he shouldn’t have to pay people to pray for him. Christianity is very important in Uganda, and the counsellors constantly struggle to convince Catholics to use condoms to protect themselves. The other battle is against small religious sects that convince people to throw away their AIDS medications; these groups say asking God for forgiveness will clean people of HIV. Despite these set backs, the counsellors are blunt in their explanations and are willing to answer any questions to help people understand their HIV status. Some of the counsellors are HIV positive themselves.