Greater Masaka still under tension over HIV-Aids

By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi

On Friday November 05^th 2021, we had a busy week. In the morning, l and the Masaka Mayor Florence Namayanja, handed over two tippers to Kimaanya-Kabonera and Nnyendo-Mukungwe city divisions to collect garbage. We called upon staff to maintai9n them well and for Masaka citizens to keep the new city clean.

Immediately after, we had the launch of the Anti-Aids Committee for the city, chaired by the Mayor and where l am a member. Others include, Deputy Mayor who also dobles as Secretary for Social Services, a City Health Officer, and many other leaders including spiritual and traditional ones and technocrats. Both functions were at the Mayor’s Chambers.

Then in the afternoon, l and the Mayor were at Maria Floor Hotel in Masaka  where we were with Equal Opportunities Commission led by its chairperson Hajjati Safia Nalule . We were launching Gender and Equity Check list under the Parish Development Model.

Here l reminded the audience mostly people with disabilities, that while in the past there were some nominal appointments of marginalized groups like women, youth, elderly and people with disability, there real affirmative action started after National Resistance Movement/Army victory in 1986 where specific positions on Resistance Council/Committees from village to district level and even in the National Resistance Council, were reserved for them until Constituent Assembly put it in 1995 constitution.

l reminded them  the presence of female commanders and combatants in NRM/NRA which was impossible in the past as all the women President Yoweri Museveni as FRONASA Commander, he recruited in 1979 war, were dismissed by Uganda national Liberation Army (UNLA) commanders who were not gender sensitive.

So doing away with President Museveni, NRM and Uganda People’s Defense Forces 9_(UPDF) can be dangerous to the country and the people especially women, youth, elderly and people with disability. Retaining the status quo is a progress move.

Back to the Anti Aids Committee, the Uganda Aids Commission provided us with information which ranked Masaka City and Greater Masaka sub region in a dangerous situation. As of now, Masaka City has 27, 0393 HIV positive patients who are taking ARVs. There are many who don’t go for test and are not registered and not on drugs.

According to the UAC officials and the Mayor, ever since the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic, the scourge of HIV-AIDS was forgotten and concentration was put on the pandemic. Yet the latter continued killing our people.

There was a similar fear in late eighties and early nineties that a lot of efforts had been put on fighting HIV-AIDS yet in Arica, and most of the tropics, the most killer disease remained malaria. Fortunately, a vaccine for Malaria has been discovered in United Kingdom and there is hope that in the near future, the disease will be a thing of the past.

While a lot of efforts have been made to arrest the situation as far as HIV-AIDS is concerned, there is not yet a cure or a vaccine. We only depend on ARVS and some of our people depend on herbs. Fortunately almost all people now know that the disease is not as a result of witchcraft as it was the belief in the past, but a real one that can only be eliminated scientifically, not withstanding some pastors and traditional healers that claim tio pray for patients and they recover.

The city treats HIV-AIDS patients at  Masaka Regional Referral Hospital ,Kitovu Hospital, Kitovu Mobile Clinic, Kiyumba Health Center IV, Armoured Brigade Health Center lll, Masaka Police HC III, Masaka Prisons HC III,Bukoto HC lll, Butende HC III, Kako HC III, Mpugwe HC III, TASO Masaka Special Clinic.

So, in Masaka both the city and the district, and the sub region generally, we have resolved to be more vigilant, and at the same function the Deputy Pookino (Kabaka’s Deputy Saza Chief) of Buddu, who is also a member of the committee, called upon Bannabuddu to come in big numbers to participate in the city run to mark the birth of the Kabaka, as a contribution to the fight of the HIV-AIDA scourge. The struggle continues.

Haji Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi is a veteran journalist and Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Masaka City.

Contact 256-756/772-836537.

Email:hajiahmedkateregga2016@gmail.com