HIV /AIDS Counseling Programme

Problem Statement

In Uganda, people live in conditions that dehumanize them to a level that they have less respect in the world. The HIV / AIDS epidemic is at the heart of a rapid breakdown of existing structures that traditionally took care of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). The AIDS crisis is eroding the governments' ability to provide even the most basic services (UNICEF, 1999).

In this photo you can see so many graves and orphans

Admissions in medical wards for AIDS related conditions increased: 50% - 70% while government health workers infected yet choked with service provision and heavy workloads still lack 38% of the established positions to be filled (ACP). 

Although it is estimated that three out of four Ugandans know about HIV / AIDS prevention methods, behavior change strategies and care services are ineffective if they are not reinforced at community level with the participation of NGOs and community leaders alongside government.

According to the 2002 Census, Uganda with a fertility rate of 6.7 has a population of 26.8 million which comprises of 13.7 million children under the age of 18 years. Of the 13.7 million, 2 million are orphans having lost one or both parents as a result of HIV / AIDS. 800,000 Ugandans (3% of the population) have died of AIDS, while an estimated 1.4 million Ugandans live with HIV / AIDS. (UNAIDS, UNICEF, 2002 population and housing census).

Iganga District has an estimated over 716,311 according to the population and housing census 2002, 422,395 of the total population are youths under the age of 18 years of which 33,378 are orphans, while 371,891 are females. 

Iganga has a population growth rate of 3.5% and an increasing urban development rate of 5%. Implications are that most of the population is women and youth who mostly live in rural areas. The population therefore relies on agricultural as the main source of income. 

Since the District's literacy levels is 57% and 43% for the female who make up the biggest percentage of the population, there is less exposure for the rural communities in improving methods of farming. There is therefore an increasing demand for mentoring the farming communities to match the increasing demand for food. 

Training farmers in farm and land management is vital if agriculture is to be invested in a more sustainable manner. Government needs the support of civil society to play a big role in transforming substance farming to a market economy. And since women are the greatest population and they play a vital role in agriculture, efforts must be laid on training them in basics of farming and livestock rearing.