WORLD AIDS DAY AN EXHIBITION SATURDAY DECEMBER 1, 2018 UGANDA’S JOURNEY OF Highlights Foreward from PROGRESS TO ENDING AIDS the Irish Ambassador “You were either infected or a ected” - Namubiru Priscilla This quote has inspired the title of the exhibition and the stories that you will experience. Priscilla is one of the many we interviewed for this undertaking. Messages from the Over a short few months the partners Ugandan Academy for Health Innovation and Impact at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Makerere University, The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) and the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) team joined together to try and capture a snapshot of Uganda’s story of HIV/AIDS from the era of ‘slim’ to the current fi ght against the OPINIONS epidemic. Millions of Ugandans have been PAGETimeline 4 infected and millions further a ected by the virus and its A drama show by the TASO Mbarara team consequences. To unshackle ourselves from the burden of such profound experiences we this is a mosaic of stories to get us the narration has come to life. an experience that is both the must fi rst look back. Through closer to a better understanding country’s and an individual the stories and materials of the journey of HIV/AIDS in Seeing the scale and depth journey. donated to this e ort, we are Uganda. of such a story our team was able to see Uganda’s journey tasked with collecting iconic We invite you to interact with PAGE 6 from the unknown to the load To curate in this way is a experiences and following the exhibits and be united in of information on the virus challenge, but with the support patterns of narration to draw out the struggle to end HIV/AIDS available today. of the Embassy of Ireland, which themes and facts. in Uganda. has played a major role in the From fi lm, to newspaper, fi ght against HIV in Uganda, with The storyboard, which you will Kara Blackmore, archives and personal artifacts, a strong stance on prevention, fi nd on pages 10-11 follow with Curator Themes throughout history INFECTED OR AFFECTED: UGANDA’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ENDING AIDS Foreword from the Irish Ambassador Strong Government leadership and impressive progress HIV and AIDS have long been at As the epidemic landscape has the heart of Ireland’s development “Success can lead changed, so too must our response. programme. We are extremely proud to complacency We need to work harder to reach the to have supported e orts that saw youth of Uganda, where coverage prevalence in this country reduce from and with 950 new of prevention e orts is most uneven. a high of 18% to 6%. Today, Ireland infections every week, With over 70% of Uganda’s rapidly invests almost a quarter of its 5-year growing population made up of young budget (€20 million) to support the complacency can people, harnessing demographic Government of Uganda in its fi ght be a very dangerous dividends is key and that means against HIV, which is more important ensuring a healthy, educated than ever. thing.” population. Through a partnership with NGOs Straight Talk Foundation, Before coming to Uganda and as former TASO, AMICAAL and NAFOPHANU, Ambassador of Ireland to Mozambique, vulnerability. Prevention must include Ireland supports specifi c interventions I was very aware of the high level both bio-medical interventions and to reach adolescents through youth political leadership and commitment to actions to address socio-cultural friendly corners in health facilities to the HIV response in Uganda, still very barriers. Ireland believes that a reduce HIV infections. I have been much alive through the Presidential Fast successful response to HIV requires inspired and impressed by so many Track Initiative. However, success can Ambassador a multi-sector approach. To give one individuals in Uganda, who are living lead to complacency and with 950 new example, a key driver to counteract positively and remain engaged in infections every week, complacency can William Carlos the epidemic remains education. Girls community mobilization and resource be a very dangerous thing. While yearly with post-primary education are fi ve mobilization. However, I am also infections have reduced dramatically Global Fund has so far provided over times more likely than illiterate women aware that levels of stigma among 90,000 - 46,000, the number remains $530 million to Uganda. Ireland remains to be educated on the topic of HIV young people remains high and can be the sixth highest in the world. an active voice in the Global Fund and AIDS. There are many drivers of a barrier to getting tested and seeking board to ensure funding goes where it the epidemic which require us to have treatment. Since 2006, Ireland has invested over is needed and in Uganda, we support a comprehensive, multi-dimensional 20 million Euros to support the fi ght the Global Fund Country Coordinating response. Through our engagement As we mark thirty years of World against HIV in Uganda, funding both the mechanism (CCM), where we are an in Karamoja, we also observe a rise in AIDS Day, it is important to take stock national and district local governments. active voice as board alternate. alcohol consumption, which could cause and see how we as partners can get The role of civil society has also been a resurge in infection rates and so we to zero new infections, building on a critical component of our investment Ireland has always been a strong voice must invest on many fronts. our successes but mindful of the into prevention through the Civil Society on prevention New Vision Data, Friday September 21, 2018 remaining challenges. 90% of the Fund from 2008 to 2016. Today, we and we are HIV response in Uganda remains continue to work closely with UNAIDS concerned that New infections externally funded and so it is critical in absence of and nine other UN agencies to support e orts to tackle ARVs from 2000 we make progress on domestic the HIV response in Karamoja and we structural factors to 2017 resource mobilization to ensure also fund the Uganda AIDS Commission have reduced sustainability of the approach. We to coordinate and strengthen the multi- in recent years. must also continue to strengthen sectoral approach to the response. These include the synergies in a multi-sector forced and response, seek e ciencies and As a founding member of the Global Fund early marriages, coordinate better to achieve more. to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Ireland gender-based Ireland will continue to support is also a strong advocate for increased violence, alcohol the Government of Uganda and investment in the HIV response and consumption its partners to achieve our shared health systems at a global level. The and economic SDG ambition of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030. 2 WORLD AIDS DAY 2018 INFECTED OR AFFECTED: UGANDA’S JOURNEY TOWARDS ENDING AIDS Years of The AIDS Support Organisation Dr Michael B. Etukoit Executive Director, TASO The history of HIV in Uganda, is interwoven with the history of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO). For the past 31 years TASO has worked with individuals, families and communities President Yoweri Museveni, pictured at the openning of a TASO centre. infected or a ected by HIV and AIDS, The quilts were made by families in memory of loved ones lost AIDS Development Partners and the Government of and beyond the borders sustainable intervention, TASO developed Hope at the end of the tunnel UNAIDS 90:90:90 treatment targets i.e. of Uganda. an exit strategy and introduced the Uganda adopted the Global UNAIDS by 2020, 90% of all people living with Sustainable Livelihood Programme. Under vision of Fast tracking ending AIDS by HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of The Beginning this programme, clients were equipped 2030; this includes Zero New Infections, all people with diagnosed HIV infection In 1987, while Uganda was recovering with di erent income generating and Zero HIV related deaths and Zero will receive sustained antiretroviral from a protracted war, with a new entrepreneurial skills. discrimination. Uganda also adopted the therapy and 90% of all people receiving Government in place, a group of people, antiretroviral therapy will have sustained some of whom were infected while viral suppression. I would like to say that others had lost friends and family to OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES STRIDES TOWARDS ENDING THE Uganda is on course to achieve these EPIDEMIC BY 2030 AIDS, came together to form a support targets by 2030. group. This group was registered as a 1980s This was a time of great fear, such as management, psychosocial According to Uganda AIDS Commission, membership organization in 1991 and denial, mistrust and stigma in Uganda. support, fi nance and administration. after the rigorous implementation of the The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) While the political arm was battling with This led to the myth that all those HIV combination prevention approach, was born. The fi rst clients were patients the unknown disease killing o those working in TASO are HIV positive. Most the number of new infections dropped abandoned by their relatives either on a who had survived the war, the medical people do not know that most of the 16 from 99,000 (2010) to 52,000 (2016). hospital bed or laying on the grass in the fraternity was trying to fi nd a cure and founders were NOT HIV positive. hospital compound. While these patients the population was ripe for any solution. After the late Philly Bongole Lutaaya What next after the exhibition? had di erent faces, family history and visited TASO, clients were trained in In January 2018, The AIDS Support cultural background, they had one thing The Ministry of Health HIV Testing Music, Dance and Drama for community Organisation (TASO) began in common; they had a disease which Policy (November 1990), reported that sensitisation.