NGO assists children affected by AIDS and war

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as high levels of unemployment in the war-affected areas of northern Uganda, were impacting on children, according to the international NGO, Save The Children. Agnes Barongo, the group's information and communication officer, told The Monitor, a local newspaper, that these realities were undermining the possibility of children benefiting from existing education systems in the northern part of the country. However, the NGO said it had a five-year plan in place to improve the quality of education for at least 10,000 children in the area. "We have already opened up our offices in Kitgum and Pader [districts] to boost our services provision to children ... which is currently being supervised by our Gulu, Lira and Apac regional offices," Barongo confirmed.