{UAH} MANDATORY TESTING: Bukomansimbi to Conduct Mandatory HIV Testing and Counseling on Students
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MANDATORY TESTING
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- Category: Local News
- Published on 20 November 2013
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Bukomansimbi to Conduct Mandatory HIV Testing and Counseling on Students as Introduced by the District Chairperson
David K. Nsubuga
Shortly after President Museveni pioneered a new campaign against HIV through public testing, authorities in Bukomansimbi are yet to implement a mandatory testing for children in the school going age across the district, as per the ordinance introduced by the district chairperson.
Hajji Muhammad Kateregga, the Bukomansimbi district chairperson, announced this policy on Friday, after he had meet residents in Kibinge town council on his tour across the district.
According to him, the policy named the, anti HIV campaign, is aimed at mitigating HIV infections among the young people in the district, as well as providing a framework for implementation and regulation of quality HIV Counseling and Testing services in the district.
Kateregga notes that it is treasonable for young persons in their productive ages, to die of Aids while there is free treatment.
In his assumption, Kateregga revealed that Bukomansimbi district is currently grappling with high cases of unreported defilement, of which the perpetrators may have unknowingly or deliberately infected the victims with HIV/AIDS and in the end fail to get treatment.
Besides, he also noted that in many cases, even when the parents come to know that their children are either defiled or raped, instead of reporting to authorities to cause prosecutions, they have instead preferred negotiating with the criminals for material gains and end up sitting on these inhuman offenses.
"We have had reports of parents fearing or deliberately failing to disclose cases and at the same time don't take responsibility of seeking for test and cure services for the victims, thereby subjecting them the consequential effects of infections and psychological traumas." He noted.
At the same time there are carriers of the virus from the parents, but because they did not test, they don't turn up or even get to know where they can get treatment. He added.
Kateregga explained that the cardinal objective of the policy is to contribute to reduction of HIV transmission and improving the quality of life by enabling persons to know their status and linking them to prevention, care, treatment and support. "We shall then have to pass on the service with convenience" said Kateregga
He says, from the children, the campaign will later be rolled out to all households across Bukomansimbi district, to enable them plan effectively, and reduce on the current prevalence rate of 12.4% against the national figure of 7%.
A team from Center for Disease Control and Prevention will soon be in the area to carry out HIV counseling and testing for all people, with the help of local leaders.
The chairperson, who was however mindful of the HIV/AIDS and counseling policy that talks of voluntary HIV testing, challenged it on arguments that all children below eighteen years are direct subjects to the government, saying that the public is entitled to observe the ordinance issued by the local government for purposes of proper planning, emphasizing that there are no ethical-legal issues violated in the policy.
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