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HIV/AIDS II: Uganda Serves As Model For Prevention In Africa Uganda's success at curbing HIV infections could serve as a model for other African countries, according to researchers participating in a forum sponsored by the 
Karen Stanecki of the US Census Bureau credits Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni with putting the problem in the public eye by spurring awareness and "involvement at all levels of society."
Other countries may be getting the message, noted Population Reference Bureau demographer Karl Haub. Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, initially opposed to the use of condoms, now endorses their use. "That's a hopeful sign," Haub said. "It doesn't take that much money and you can get some immediate results. Uganda is an example of that," he said (Geoffrey Smith, Washington Times, 19 Jan).
From 1992 to 1998, the death rate from AIDS in Uganda's capital, Kampala, decreased from 30% to 15%, Stanecki said. "The story in Uganda is great," she said. "The question is: Will we see these declines in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa?"
The most dramatic decline was seen among youths aged 15 to 19, she said, adding that Uganda's challenge now is to maintain these declining levels.
"(African governments) always thought they were being stigmatized. They didn't like thinking about sex," Stanecki said. "But since the late 1980s, President Museveni has been very open."
Elsewhere in Africa -- most notably Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia -- the AIDS epidemic is continuing to grow, Stanecki said. While fertility rates are still rising faster than mortality rates in much of Africa, she said, the mortality rates are growing much quicker in these three countries.
In Botswana and Zimbabwe, she said, "we may see negative population growth if the epidemic continues at present rates" (Steven Feinberg, UN Wire, 20 Jan).
Yet as Voice of America's This Week reported, Uganda is also an example of "the desperate state of AIDS patients in Africa," where people "must rely on unproven treatments because proven drugs like AZT are too expensive" (Note: You may need to download free software to access this audio link).
Uganda's National Hospital is overcrowded and provides no AIDS treatment. It spends its limited funds in fighting diseases like tuberculosis, meningitis and malaria, which are also on the rise in Africa.
Dr. Margaret Johnston, associate director at the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: "Developing countries have to be full partners in the development [of a cure] or this isn't going to work. That's one of the goals that we are trying to accomplish. The major obstacles are scientific, but they're not the only obstacles" (This Week, Voice of America, 17 Jan 2000)
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