from PlusNews via IRIN
Off the beaten track east of Uganda's capital, Kampala, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is taking a nurse, a community health worker and a cooler full of life-saving medication to Gayaza village, where they will call on homes affected by HIV/AIDS.
Although more Ugandans than ever are on antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, many HIV-positive people in remote areas still struggle to get the life-prolonging drugs: health professionals are scarce (about one doctor per 12,500 people) and community health centres are few and far between. Most villagers, mainly subsistence farmers, cannot afford to travel long distances to reach them.
A study conducted in Uganda and published this month in the UK medical journal, The Lancet, has found that home-based ARV therapy provided by trained lay counsellors could be the best option for HIV-infected people living in remote, rural areas.
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Friday, March 7, 2008
UGANDA: Home-based HIV treatment extends lives
