On 23rd March 2015, the First Lady, the EMTCT Champion launched the 8th EMTCT Regional Campaign in Mid Western Region, Hoima District under the Regional theme “Test together, Know Together, Disclose Together” – in fulfillment of her Mission OAFLA (U) in partnership with the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), the Ministry of Health (MOH), Development Partners, Implementing Partners and other Stakeholders since March 2013.
This theme is within the context of the greater EMTCT Regional Campaign theme: “Stand Out, Participate and Be Counted! Have an HIV Free Baby”.
The EMTCT Campaigns are geared towards creating awareness about the need for male involvement in the reproductive health of their spouses. The Campaigns which have received wide acclaim because of their relative successes have been instrumental in increasing demand for commodities and services. They have also brought together national stakeholders in consultative meetings, organized to share perspectives on the HIV Response in each region.
The objectives of the Consultative Meeting in Hoima were to:
- Provide a Forum for key stakeholders in the EMTCT Response to share information regarding EMTCT and HIV/AIDS in general.
- Hold conversations on promoting the Campaign theme: Test together, Know together and Disclose together and share recommendations.
The Consultative Meeting was attended by Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, a representative of the US Ambassador to Uganda, the UNAIDS Director Global Plan and Global Fund, Implementing and Development Partners, as well as officials from the UAC and the MOH. Also in attendance were key stakeholders from the 14 Districts of the Mid-Western Region including: political leaders, key national and regional actors in the health sector, the district leadership, members of civil society organisations as well as representatives of: the Village Health Teams (VHTs) People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) and cultural and religious leaders.
Details in the attached report
This is ablessing to the african women especially in the rural areas of uganda and whose rights are voileted by their husbands.
This is a very good initiative to have a mechanism of engaging very high leadership in a national program. This in a way will certainly promote ownership and empowering regions to focus on health issues that impact on the future communities.