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MPOLYABIGERE RC-RICED CENTRE

A REPORT ON THE WORLD AIDS DAY

ONE MILLION TEST CAMPAIGN 2008

25TH

NOV. - 1ST

DEC.

Contact

PLOT 84 IVUKULA ROAD

P.O BOX 116 BUSEMBATIA

NAMUTUMBA DISTRICT UGANDA

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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 Partners ............................................................................................................................................ 4

3.0 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 5

4.0 Community Benefit ........................................................................................................................... 5

5.0 The People’s Voices (In their own words): ........................................................................................ 6

6.0 Achievements ................................................................................................................................... 7

7.0 Lessons/Success Stories .................................................................................................................. 8

8.0 Specific Challenges encountered on Site ......................................................................................... 9

9.0 Way Forward .................................................................................................................................. 10

10.0 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 11

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1.0 Introduction

What begun with a paper and pen commitment in Mexico City at the XVII International AIDS

Conference has now been realised. The first phase of the One Million Testing Campaign came

to an end on Monday the 1st of December 2008 after an exciting seven-day Mass Voluntary

Counselling and Testing exercise. The One Million Testing Campaign came as a blessing to

Namutumba district whose 57,138 households are still under facilitated in terms of health and

social-economic services. The 2002 Uganda Population and Housing Census conducted by the

Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimated the population of Namutumba district at 201,506 people

of which 114,859 are children below 18 years.

The 2002 National Population and Housing Census put Namutumba district population at

169,691 of which 86,179 were female and 81,512 males. According to the district poverty

indicators malaria and pneumonia are the most prevalent diseases in the district. The Insect

Treated Nets (ITNs) coverage is very low with 20% of those households that have at least one

ITN hence the difficulty to prevent malaria transmission. HIV/AID is ranked the 6th

disease

affecting the population in Namutumba, but the prevalence rate is 6.5% (women 7.5% and men

5.2%) which is above the national average of 6.4% (UHSBS, 2005). According to the district

plan, HIV/AIDS “requires attentions for prevention, care and support especially among the out

of school of all ages as well as youth and adult youth in school who are more at risk. In addition,

women either widowed or single parents / caregivers need special support as they are the most

affected by HIV/AIDS.” No doubt that HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of morbidity at

6% and mortality of 1% which negatively impacts basic health care services.

According to district records, of those children under five years who were tested in the district

health centres, 1% were found to be positive (UHSBS, 2005), the second highest in the country.

Highly Active Anti-Retrial Viral Therapy (HAART) programme is not well known and the

services are not easily accessible (27% availability of HIV/AIDS services) reports the DHO.

Mpolyabigere RC RICED Center was able to bring the campaign to the grassroots to these

people during the One Million Tests Campaign and covered a symbolic and significant cross

section of Namutumba District and the bordering town council of Busembatia in Iganga district.

We believe that AIDS does not respect political boundaries. And so, we are also involved in the

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Common Markets Authority of Eastern and Central Africa (COMESA) campaign to ensure that

the food basket is not affected by HIV/AIDS.

2.0 Partners

Mpolyabigere is grateful to the following organisations which through the One Million Tests

Campaign 2008 enabled us to make foot prints in extending testing services to many out there,

something we desired to do for many years before, but were unable without this kind of support.

We are grateful for the support and partnership with AIDS Health Care Foundation-Uganda

Cares, AIDS Health Care Foundation USA, SHANGHAI KEHUA BIOENGNEERING, LTD

SHANGHAI CHINA, Aids Information Centre (AIC) Jinja Branch, Nsinze Health Centre IV and

the Namutumba District Health Office (DHO). We hope that this pioneered activity will not stop

at this initiation stage.

This partnership which has been one of the strongest ever that Mpolyabigere RC-RICED Center

has enjoyed working with since 2001 when we hosted seven countries in Eastern Africa and the

Horn to a two-week Community Organising for Social Transformation Training of Trainers

(COSTT). It will strengthen our roll-out on the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Uganda and

collaboration with other executing agencies like COMESA business corridor campaign which is

ongoing. We believe that in the coming years will experience far less cases on new HIV/AIDS

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infection leave an enviable legacy on the landscape of HIV prevention and control programs in

rural Africa.

3.0 Methodology

Two testing teams comprising of four technical persons each were dispatched to two different

venues each day. The Program Officer maintained coordination between the events. We begun

with mass counselling, followed by group pre-testing counselling, then registration of those to be

tested, before proceeding to the testing area; and lastly the counsellor provided results in

confidence accompanied with post test counselling services. Those who were waiting were

entertained with campaign songs and speeches. On the eve of the World AIDS Day, a foot ball

match was held in addition to the speeches and discussions by the district executives.

4.0 Community Benefit

Participation in the One Million World AIDS Day mass testing campaign raised the profile and

visibility of both Mpolyabigere RC RICED Centre and Namutumba district. Apart from the

counselling and testing, bright T-shirts with a bold message, three carton boxes of condoms were

distributed, to the clients who tested and most especially on the World AIDS Day

Commemoration at Nsinze Sub-County.

Mpolyabigere HIV/AIDS PACE 2010 (Prevention and Control Education) Programme has

through this campaign realised more local and international collaboration, gained focus, and

program consolidation of its goal to increase community awareness of their reproductive health

and potential.

The T-shirts, Straight talk and Young talk newspaper, and the people trained to volunteer for the

week will continue to be resourceful reminders to the community. In addition the materials put

in the Mpolyabigere Community Library will remain a common reference to serve the

community and the district and beyond.

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5.0 The People’s Voices (In their own words):

A lady client from Nangonde village said: „„We had to pay money to get tested and that because

of the huge distances to the Health Centres and usually with many patients in long lines, one gets

no opportunity and enough time to go and test. As if that alone is not enough you hardly receive

the results.” She concludes by saying that this service was an opportunity that should not to be

missed.

Another, a school head teacher asked Mpolyabigere to go into the schools directly for VCT as

the students would feel free to go and test and know their status instantly than to wait for week.

A Health worker in charge of the ART Clinic which started in March 2007 were those who are

positive gather every Thursday asked Mpolyabigere to improvise means to help the many clients

who spend the whole day hungry at the ART Clinic for counselling and ARVS. “Many of them

come from distant parts of the district and cannot afford to buy meals or carry meals over the

long distances. It would be better if they eat some porridge at least for lunch other than stay

hungry for the whole day.” She said.

At this ART Clinic 660 have been enrolled and all are on Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, 75 patients

have been started on ARVs and 15 patients have died. The 33 who tested positive through the

one million campaigns, the biggest number had tested for the first time hence registering an

increase on the people who are positive and now referred to the same health centre.

Another lamented: “You have not reached some parts were noticeably there are people infected

and they will infect others without knowing.”

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6.0 Achievements

Given the time and resources at hand, we were able to reach out to 11 testing centres and served

the following number of people in the different sub-counties.

SUMMARY OF TESTING COVERAGE

Centre

Number

Testing Centre Tested by AIC Tested by One

Million

Total number of

people tested

1. NAMUTUMBA DISTRICT

Namutumba Town Council

150 148 298

2. Nsinze Trading Center 207 207

3. Isegero Trading Center 115 115

4. St. Paul‟s Buwongo 87 87

5. Kilanga Village 179 179

6. Bugobi Health Center 247 247

7. Kibale Trading Center 347 347

8. Nabinhonhi Village 179 179

9. Bulange Trading Center 114 114

10. Nangonde 133 133

11. IGANGA DISTRICT

Busembatia Town Council

109 109

TOTAL 392 1623 2015

A total of two thousand and fifteen (2015) people were tested for HIV and out of which thirty

three (33) tested positive and were referred to Nsinze Health Centre IV for further counselling

and treatment. Our set target was initially set at 600 but was nearly tripled. If we had mapped

out to achieve the community wide target of 10,000 tests, there is no doubt it would have been

reached. This clearly exhibits the mobilization potential of Mpolyabigere RC RICED Center for

Mass action. The tangible results during this campaign put us in a good position of meeting our

set target of reaching out to the under-privileged rural people who wish to know their sero-status

but are unable to walk miles to get tested.

The football match which was organised as a mobilisation strategy attracted people of all ages.

It was during this event on the eve of World AIDS Day that was used to mark the World AIDS

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Day and to talk about the One Million Test Campaign. Emphasis was put on the youth in that

they had a huge role to play in order to push back HIV/AIDS and to experience a World free

from HIV/AIDS. We shared live examples, such as that one needed to be healthy to keep playing

foot ball. We invited them to inform their peers and other people they come across to turn up for

the 20th

Anniversary Commemoration of the World AIDS day the next day and to triple their

energies in pushing back HIV/AIDS. In turn the youth and local leadership expressed keen

interest to work with Mpolyabigere to reverse the trends of HIV and AIDS by ensuring that there

are no new infections. As a campaign of being an Agent of Change they promised to continue

with productive games like football and netball and to avoid those that would predispose them to

infection.

7.0 Lessons/Success Stories

The testing team which comprised of Community Orginisers and Health Workers was an

energetic and enthusiastic force. They combined their popularity within their communities and

accuracy of work to provide a good and impressive picture in all testing centers. The turn up

was equally amazing. People of all ages wanted to be tested. The testing team attributed this to

the urgency that was needed in particular sub-counties, hence the need to divide up the team so

that more villages could be covered.

All people in the testing centres were warm and very receptive to the campaign and encouraged

each other to turn up for the testing. Through local councils and community organisers people

turned up in large numbers. This is the first time such an activity has been held and we could

hear people recommending it as a good practice. The t-shirts, sports, songs, and allowances to

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the team added to the success of the activities. These incentives created an environment of love,

trust and hope for all the participants.

It was also good to see local leader at the different levels working together for a common cause

which is not just political but social and health. Leaders at different levels came around and even

tested for the first time in their life to set an example to the rest.

8.0 Specific Challenges encountered on Site

Health mobilisation in the rural communities faces great challenges of limited material resources,

poor transport, unmotivated health and social workers, and apathetic local leadership. But this

time it was a reversal. The team and people to be tested had to travel several miles from the

depth and breadth of the villages to come to central venues where the activities were held.

Travel was done mostly by footing or bicycle for the near by testing centres. Those who could

not walk or ride did not turn up. We also worked from the open under trees in some places

because these are the community spaces. A rapid testing convention would be complemented by

a drop-in kind of service where a person does not have to wait for a full day before being given

the service. Moreover, counselling services, that are so crucial in HIV/AIDS management, are

rare or lacking in the district. Some community counsellors had to be got from different health

centres of the district Miles away to be trained to support the exercise this explains the delays

actually experienced in arrivals for training when the trainers from AHF- Uganda Cares arrived

at the health centre.

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Sports which are our main mobilisation tools were held only at one venue although we would

have desired to have it at all the venues so that the discussions can continue through playing and

positive entertainment. This was not possible because the teams lacked balls and drums. We

also did not show the video tapes that had been planned due to limited logistics including lack of

electricity and big screen.

9.0 The Way Forward

Individuals that tested positive were counselled and referred to Nsinze health Centre IV which

has an ART Clinic. And those Individuals who tested negative were advised accordingly to

maintain the best practices that prevent contraction of the deadly Virus.

There is still an urgent need for us to extend our out-reach services to those who were unable to

turn up in these seven days and to give post test counselling and testing to those who were tested.

The number of those who tested positive seems low but for a rural community that is a big

number and it could be that these were the ones who did not suspect they could have HIV. There

could those who were suspicious and they deliberately kept off. We need to continue to offer

counselling and testing support in an environment of hope and trust.

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We need to mobilise the communities into post-test clubs for dissemination of information and

encouragement of each other. Community counsellors need to be trained and supported to

continue with the work in the sites were the testing was held to reach out to the families, schools

and communities to keep the morale of positive living alive.

10.0 Acknowledgements

In a special way we thank Herb Fisher, Testing campaign Co-ordinator World AIDS day Project

Global Advocacy AHF for the Universal access Flag in recognition of our impressive activity

program for the One Million test campaign. For the contacts built through this partnership with

Wendy of SHANGHAI KEHUA BIOENGNEERING LTD in SHANGHAI CHINA that made a

donation to Mpolyabigere of 12 kits that conducted 600 tests which they delivered by DHL to

Mpolyabigere Offices in Nsinze. Thank you!

To Dr. Kate Ssamula Project Co-ordinator HIV Mass testing Project AHF-Uganda Cares;

through her Coordination AHF- Uganda cares offered a Total of 35 Kits that conduct 1,680 tests,

five boxes of disposable gloves (5*100) totalling to 500 in number and 50 Uganda Cares T-

shirts which coloured the events.

AIDS Health Care Foundation-Uganda Cares delivered the testing kits and also sent a training

team to train the health Workers that were to use the testing Kits in the One Million Mass testing

campaign. Our grand appreciations go to our trainers Bonny, Martha and Paul of AHF-Uganda

Cares. The Health Workers that were trained confessed that it was their first time they were

using the Insti testing kit and they say it was easy and convenient to use, an opportunity they

were happy about. Through the training on how to use the kits, they said it was an opportunity

for them in their carrier.

AHF-Uganda cares also contributed Uganda shillings one million one hundred and twenty five

thousand (1,125,000/=) as allowances for the Health Workers. AIDS Information Centre Jinja

Branch who honoured our invitation to take up other distant areas that would have been

impossible for Mpolyabigere testing team to reach for lack of transport. AIC Jinja came with its

full facilitation and we did only the Mobilisation local logistics which was a great contribution.

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The District Health Officer and his team of Namutumba District Local Government offered the

Nsinze Health Centre Ambulance to transport the testing team and provided fifty (50) litres of

fuel. This made it easy for the testing teams to reach out to all the planned testing centres in the

various sub-counties on time. We are grateful for all your unequalled generous support to this

critical rural campaign programme.

Last but not least, the Mpolyabigere Campaign Team: Baamugha Erizeefaani with his Executive

Committee comprising of Hussein Kigenyi, Mulawo Fauza, Kakande Dalaus, and the Health

Workers: Kibenge Perepetwa, Nanyange Agnes, Musasizi Daniel, Isiiko Fred, Ngobi

Muhammad, Ndizawa Jane, Musinguzi, Natocho Jessica, Nabiryo Tunonya, the Administrator

Mrs. Petwa Tibakubawo Wambi, Programs advisor Mr. Wambi Dawson, Wandera Tom of

Nsinze Health Center Laboratory, Doola Nasimu, Ntamira James, Babirye Hadijah, Sabuka

Dominiki, Kyabanabwe Mary, Charlotte Birungi, Francis Kyakulaga, Henry, Nsinze H/C

Clinical Officer, Mr. Mukambwe, all the village Local Council Chief Executives of the

respective testing centres and Mr. George Ddamba, the District Speaker of Namutumba District

Local Government. Thank you again!

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Compiled by

Enoch Magala

Youth Development Officer

Mpolyabigere RC RICED Center

Email: enochmagala@yahoo.com

Tel: + (256) 712-570445

“Planting, Nurturing and Harvesting Humanity”