In Uganda, the WHO World Health Report (2004) indicates an adult mortality68 rate per 1000 population of 505 for males and 431 for females. Life expectancy for males is 47.9; for females 50.8. Healthy life expectancy is 41.7 for males; 43.7 for females.69
HIV/AIDS is a huge burden for sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout the region in 2003, an estimated 23-27 million people were thought to be living with the disease which also caused up to 2.5 million deaths. This represents a huge loss and impacts significantly on health systems and social and family structures.70
At the end of 2003, UNAIDS suggested that in Uganda, up to 880,000 adults and children were living with HIV, and that up 120,000AIDS-related deaths had occurred during this year (Table 7).
Table 7 Country HIV and AIDS estimates, end 2003
Adult (15-49)
HIV prevalence rate
|
4.1%
(range: 2.8%-6.6%)
|
Adults (15-49)
living with HIV
|
450 000
(range: 300 000-730 000)
|
Adults and children (0-49)
living with HIV
|
530 000
(range: 350 000-880 000)
|
Women (15-49)
living with HIV
|
270 000
(range: 170 000-410 000)
|
AIDS deaths
(adults and children)
in 2003
|
78 000
(range: 54 000-120 000)
|
Government action has helped reduce the prevalence of AIDS from 30% of the population in the early 1990s to an estimated 6% in 2002. This package of support has focused on prevention and care and includes awareness raising, education, condom distribution, voluntary testing and counselling. UNAIDS reports:
AIDS is the leading cause of death for those aged 15–49 years. The overall antenatal HIV prevalence rate in 2002 was reported to be 6.5%. The country has an orphan population of more than two million, nearly half as a result of HIV/AIDS. Single, widowed surviving mothers and elderly widowed grandmothers have now become the predominant heads of households.
Even within this grim picture, Uganda has become a beacon of hope and an example of accomplishments in the area of HIV/AIDS for many countries all over the world. The government and the people of Uganda have consistently pursued a policy of openness about HIV/AIDS, backed by the strong political commitment and leadership of President Yoweri Museveni. By mainstreaming HIV/AIDS prevention and control into different sectors, in national plans, including the National Poverty Eradication Action Plan, all segments of society in all parts of the country have been encouraged to play a role. In addition, the government has been successful in mobilizing additional resources for HIV/AIDS.71
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