President urges strengthened AIDS efforts

Although Uganda has featured as a model in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, President Yoweri Museveni says there is need for a concerted effort to combat the disease, a local newspaper, New Vision, reported. In a statement read by Health Minster Jim Muhwezi at the Fourth National AIDS Conference in the capital, Kampala, earlier this week, Museveni warned Ugandans against complacency. The East African country has won international acclaim for reducing its prevalence rates from 30 to 6 percent, using the approach: 'Abstain, Be faithful and Condomise' (ABC). Stressing the importance of abstinence in HIV prevention, he urged parents to encourage their children to stick to local norms and values to avoid infection.