People Living with HIV:- Africa Youth Ministries

People Living with HIV

  1. Home
  2. People Living with HIV

AIDS! Acquired immuno deficiency syndrome, initially known as ‘silm’ due to its physically wasting characteristics. It began to spread in Uganda on the shores of lake Victoria in the late 1970s.

1982 the first AIDS case in Uganda was diagnosed. Between 1982 and 1986 there was little understanding of what AIDS was, and it was not known that is was caused by HIV. During this period the epidemic was largely associated to witch craft. During the early 1990s HIV prevalence peaked at over 30% and until recently has been much higher than that in some areas. Uganda is now estimated to have about 1,400,000 million people living with HIV/AIDS. and that there had been over 23,000 HIV/AIDS – related deaths in 2018 alone.

HIV/AIDS has not only a social but an economic cost. HIV/ AIDS related expenses in Uganda cost the public services in 1999, and the country’s GDP has fallen, as has the life, expectancy of its population – in 2001, only 44.7 years at birth, of this shs 3 billion, sh192m was for burial expenses. AIDS is known to hamper efforts to reduce poverty, and indeed, often increases the numbers of people living in extreme poverty. As AIDS usually kills sexually-active adults, it tends to strike hardest against a country’s labour –force. The impact has on economic revenues negatively effects the educational and health services and leaves behind orphaned children and grand parents an additional burden on the community.

When receiving a HIV positive test result, many people feel that they have been given a death sentence. HIV / AIDS education and counseling for HIV positive people has several main goals:

  • To help people to cope with the trauma of a HIV positive test result.
  • To inform HIV positive people about the nature of HIV and AIDS.
  • To help them to confront any discrimination they may face as a result of being infected with HIV.
  • To enable them to lead full and healthy lives.
  • iTo enable them, should they wish to, to have an active sexual life without passing the infection on to anyone else.
  • To ensure that the infection isn't passed on by any other means - the sharing of injecting equipment, for example. Most people who are HIV positive have acquired the infection from another person through sex, or via injecting equipment, however research reveals that 80% of all HIV infection are a result of Sexual intercourse.

Just as people who are HIV Negative must take responsibility for their own protection, so must people who are HIV positive take responsibility for ensuring that they do not pass the virus on to anyone else.

Gartrude a health worker with Africa Youth Ministries/Living Hope Health Centre gives instructions to patients on how to prepare the food kits. These kits were donated by Alberta Distribution and Relief Agency.

Africa Youth Ministries Staff distributing food to People Living With HIV/AIDS in Bulindo Wakiso District

Women and Children listen to instructions before the receive their food kits

Nurse Veronica trains VCT & Home Based Care Health Workers in ARV management infection prevention at Living Hope Health Centre

Epidemic Background

AIDS! Acquired immuno deficiency syndrome, initially known as ‘silm’ due to its physically wasting characteristics. It began to spread in Uganda on the shores of lake Victoria in the late 1970s.

1982 the first AIDS case in Uganda was diagnosed. Between 1982 and 1986 there was little understanding of what AIDS was, and it was not known that is was caused by HIV. During this period the epidemic was largely associated to witch craft. During the early 1990s HIV prevalence peaked at over 30% and until recently has been much higher than that in some areas. Uganda is now estimated to have about 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Uganda’s ministry of health surveillance unit estimated that there were about 1,050,5557 people living with HIV/AIDS by end of December 2001 and that there had been over 940,000 HIV/AIDS – related deaths since the onset of the epidemic in the country.

HIV/AIDS has not only a social but an economic cost. HIV/ AIDS related expenses in Uganda cost the public services in 1999, and the country’s GDP has fallen, as has the life, expectancy of its population – in 2001, only 44.7 years at birth, of this shs 3 billion, sh192m was for burial expenses. AIDS is known to hamper efforts to reduce poverty, and indeed, often increases the numbers of people living in extreme poverty. As AIDS usually kills sexually-active adults, it tends to strike hardest against a country’s labour –force. The impact has on economic revenues negatively effects the educational and health services and leaves behind orphaned children and grand parents an additional burden on the community or the state.

The CEO Africa Youth Ministries hands a food kit, and beddings to a patient in Bulindo Kira Sub-County Wakiso District

The CEO Africa Youth Ministries Mr. KUNIHIRA Albert poses for a photo with Children after a distribution of relief items to families affected by the AIDS epidemic in Kyewanise Mpigi District

Staff of Africa Youth Ministries distribute food kits, clothes, and beddings to patients and Children orphaned by AIDS in Kirinya Wakiso District

Kanah Florance a Health Worker with Africa Youth Ministries/Living Hope Health Centre educating women on Living Positively.

Major Needs for People Living With AIDS

Various needs assessment studies carried out by Africa Youth Ministries focusing on people living with HIV/AIDS and OVC’s in the 15 Districts where we operate reveals that, the general human living conditions of People Living With AIDS & OVC’s e.g. Feeding, Housing, Income Generating activities, Clothing, Beddings, Education, Medication etc, were all horrible.

Our continuous studies have revealed that all people living with HIV/AIDS visited were living in very poor mud & wattle houses or huts. All the houses seen were leaking and they offered no shelter in rainy seasons and others were on the verge of collapsing and others had already collapsed.

Similarly, many cannot afford to cultivate fields to grow food due to ill health that alone resulting in starving, or having one meal a day yet the Anti-retroviral Therapy requires them to eat well to avoid negative side effects by the drugs.

Observed also, is in majority of cases children of PLWA patients dropped of school due to lack of school fees or simply to provide the most needed care to their dying parents. Due to their poor state, PLWA patients can hardly even afford clothes, beddings etc for themselves and Children, leave alone financial disability to cater for their transport to the nearest health centre’s to pick their medication.

In this regard, Africa Youth Ministries together with Living Hope Health Centre, they provided various help in regards to the above mentioned needs including implementing a Home Based Care Program (HBC) providing for both Anti retroviral Therapy (ART) and primary Health Care Services.

Part of the Home Based Care health workers from Africa Youth Ministries/Living Hope Health Centre in the Community

Part of the Home Based Care health workers from Africa Youth Ministries/Living Hope Health Centre in the Community

Staff of Living Hope Health Centre and Africa Youth Ministries on a community outreach program providing free Voluntary HIV testing and counseling

Economic Empowerment for PLWA

To strengthen the economic capacity of people living with AIDS and OVC’s Africa Youth Ministries has trained many in income generating activities, that is including making of Handcrafts, Poultry, making and selling of snacks. This project has enabled many families to earn a living to buy food, clothes, and to be able to send children to school.

On-going Intervations

Currently Africa Youth Ministries is working on the following measures to make PLWA & OVC's, live better, rewarding and prolonged lives

  • Increase the number of patients receiving ARV’s from Living Hope Health centre.
  • Enhance the home based care programto benefit over 1500 PLWA patients.
  • Provide Mosquito nets.
  • Provide scholastic materials to Children Orphaned by AIDS & AIDS affected families.
  • Building of low cost houses for PLWHA, 50 houses have been built so far.
  • Provide beddings to PLWHA e.g. Blankets, bedsheets, mattresses, etc
  • Train PLWHA in income generating activities & provide Micro Finance loans.
  • Provide free seeds to PLWHA.
  • Integrating HIV/AIDS awareness & prevention with skills training for OVC’s & People Living With AIDS.
  • Increasing information dissemination on HIV/AIDS focusing on young people 12-25 e.g. Primary & secondary schools and out of school youth. This will help them make informed choices about their lives as the only means of preventing new HIV infections in young people. This may include drama staging in schools, introduction of HIV/AIDS focused curriculums in schools, Ant AIDS posters in schools, leaflets, and other promotion materials
  • Intensify efforts on preventing Mother to Child transmission of HIV PMTCT at Living Hope Health Centre

Secure Online Donations

  • $10 - Will provide a mosquito bednet to an orphaned child or a person living with AIDS to prevent Malaria as an opportunistic disease.
  • $30 - monthly donation will provide healthy and nutrition feeding to a person living with AIDS.
  • $40 - Will help us reach 100 people with free HIV Counseling and Testing services.
  • $50 - monthly donation will provide medical care to a person living with AIDS.
  • $60 - Monthly Donation will facilitate one health worker reach 10 patients in our Home Based Care program in a week

Your Financial Donation of US$ 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 or more will help us save more lives through our Community Based Support & Care Program for People Living With HIV/AIDS. You can make your financial Donation safely and securely online at Click