AFRO-NETS> Global AIDS Week: A Continent of Champions

[John Kiwanuka Ssemakula <jssemakula@medilinks.org>]

Global AIDS Week: A Continent of Champions
------------------------------------------
 
By John Kiwanuka Ssemakula
Monday, December 1, 2003
 
December 1st another year, another World AIDS Day. Once again it 
is time to take stock and review what has been achieved over the 
last year. As always Africa is at the top of the news, but wor-
ryingly, it is now jostling for first place with Asia and East-
ern Europe.
 
I say worryingly, for two reasons, the first is that this im-
plies things are getting worse in the world and the UNAIDS re-
ports seems to bear this out. "Worst year ever for world AIDS" 
blared a news report. The UNAIDS report says that more people 
are expected to die from AIDS in the coming year because global 
efforts to control spread are failing. The second may seem a 
little uncharitable, but this will mean there will be even less 
money for Africa which has struggled for so many years. The fu-
ture indeed seems bleak.
 
But not as bleak as maybe 2 years ago. There is indeed hope. 
This year more money than ever is being spent on AIDS. It is not 
nearly enough, but compared to what was being spent before, it 
is still encouraging. But it what is happening on the continent 
that gives me the greatest hope.
 
In the past whenever people quoted Dr Piot or Jeffrey Sachs 
talking about AIDS, I would ask myself, where are the champions 
in Africa, where are the great men and women in Africa talking 
about AIDS. Of course Nelson Mandela springs to mind, but where 
are all the others, I'd also ask myself. In vain I searched for 
them, until a revelation came to me. I know where they are, not 
hidden at all, but right in front of us all this time. It is the 
people of Africa.
 
The people of Africa are the true champions of AIDS on the con-
tinent, because they are at the forefront of the fight against 
AIDS. They may not get all the news headlines or the media and 
press attention, but they are the true vanguard of the troops in 
the fight against AIDS on Africa. They are not fighting the en-
emy AIDS in some distant land, but are waging the battle in 
their homes, villages, farms town, the enemy in their midst.
 
I've always known this, indeed I am one of those soldiers. But 
it was while visiting Uganda earlier in the year, this perspec-
tive crystallized. While on trips to visit health clinics in Ra-
kai and Luwero districts, I found doctors, nurses, health work-
ers busily engaged in providing health care to the population, 
not just from Uganda, but in the case of some of the clinics on 
the border, people form Tanzania. Despite very difficult condi-
tions, they were providing VCT, PMTCT, at Kakuuto Clinic, they 
were proud to tell me they had managed to sensitise almost 80% 
of the women in the area about their AIDS programs and were 
waiting to get them underway.
 
At Luwero clinic, I was taken around to see the start of their 
VCT clinic. In Kampala I was privileged to attend the Church of 
Uganda Bishops workshop on advocacy for "Adolescent Sexual Re-
productive Health (ASRH) & Rights", which included addressing 
the very important subject of stigma, and women's rights. One of 
the presenters was my brother, Dr Paul Kiwanuka Mukiibi, also a 
medical doctor based in Uganda.
 
I was at a 3 day conference in Mombasa, Kenya on safe healthcare 
and AIDS in Africa, that was attended by Ministers of health and 
other officials form 8 African countries. I was present at the 
Africa-America Institute 50th Anniversary Award Dinner held at 
the UN. Fittingly one of the awards the AAI African National 
Achievement Awards "Honoring the people of Uganda, for reducing 
poverty and the spread of HIV infection" which was presented to 
H.E. Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda on behalf of the 
Uganda people.
 
And what of myself, what have I achieved? My colleagues and I 
have continued to provide AIDS healthcare information on the Me-
dilinks website. In a recent 32 country survey by the Interna-
tional AIDS Economic Network (IAEN), Medilinks was listed in the 
top 10 most important sites for information on the AIDS epidemic 
in the developed world (UNAIDS was number one). In the same sur-
vey out of 700 AIDS resources, Medilinks was in the top 5%.
 
On July 31st 2003, I testified before the Senate Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions "Solutions to the Problem 
of Health Care Transmissions of HIV/AIDS in Africa". I can say 
that I kept my promise to the Church of Uganda Bishops, who told 
me "We are sending you as our emissary to USA and we are trust-
ing you to tell the Senators about us. Tell the Senators, we are 
also working very hard. We appreciate any and all help you can 
give us in our fight against HIV/AIDS", my promise to Sister 
Namperwa of Kakuto Health Centre in Rakai District who said to 
me, " If you have these auto-disable syringes and you can bring 
them to Uganda it will be good. It will help Doctors at those 
clinics further up country, they are just stuck, and are worn 
out dealing with AIDS everyday. This is a problem they have no 
means to deal with!"
 
The US Senate approved an amendment requiring $75M of $15B 
Global AIDS Initiative go toward curbing unsafe medical prac-
tices. Modest achievements in the grand scheme of things, but 
nonetheless they they are.
 
A month later, during Labor Day weekend the Uganda North America 
Association presented me Philly Lutaaya Award "for your contri-
butions to alleviating the pain and suffering of Ugandans coping 
with the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS". I was even more proud 
to receive the award alongside Dr Noerinne Kalleba and Dr Peter 
Mugenyi, two true champions of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
 
But it is not in Uganda alone that this is happening. In Sene-
gal, a vigorous prevention and education campaign has held the 
HIV rate to less than 2%. The South African government has just 
unveiled the most ambitious anti-retroviral treatment campaign 
in history. UNAIDS applauded Botswana's leadership in the fight 
against AIDS, saying "Despite having the highest adult HIV 
prevalence worldwide at close to 40%, Botswana has managed to 
mount an effective response to AIDS over the past few years. 
"Botswana's growing AIDS movement is the result of President 
Mogae's leadership and openness on AIDS coupled with the active 
involvement of people living with HIV?." There are many more ex-
amples too numerous too mention.
 
Africa is indeed a continent of champions.
 
--
Dr John Kiwanuka Ssemakula (MD, MPH)
President and Founder
Medilinks
475 Washington Ave, Ste 1D Brooklyn
New York 10168, USA
Tel: +1-212-739-7893 
Fax: +1-212-739-7923
Mobile: +1-917-292-5968
mailto:jssemakula@medilinks.org
http://medilinks.org/

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