1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Uganda

Women avoiding free anti-AIDS treatment

Pregnant women in Uganda are shunning anti-AIDS drugs that help prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the Uganda AIDS Commission has said. The director-general of the commission, Dr David Apuuli, said up to 25 percent of new infections were the result of mother-to-child transmission, but less than five percent of women were making use of the free treatment. He said the commission was looking for ways to popularise existing programmes for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. A local newspaper, New Vision, quoted Apuuli as saying: "We want to offer a family package to include the husband, wife and the children in the treatment."

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join