HIV/AIDS controlstrategy

HIV and malaria prevention measures

The economic and political structures which sustain poverty and discrimination need to be transformed in order to for poverty and poor health to be tackled.

Marginalized groups and vulnerable individuals are often worst affected, deprived of the information money or access to health services that would help them prevent and treat disease. Very poor and vulnerable people may have to make harsh choices – knowingly putting their health at risk because they cannot see their children go hungry, for example. The cultural and social barriers faced by marginalized groups- including indigenous communities – can mean they use health services less, with serious consequences for their health.

This perpetuates their misappropriate levels of poverty. The cost of doctors’ fees, a course of drugs and transport to reach health centre can be devastating, both for an individual and their relatives who need to care for them or help them reach and pay for treatment. In the worst cases, the burden of illness many mean that families sell their property, take children out of school to earn a living or even start begging.

The burden of caring is often taken on by a female relative who may have to give up her education as a result, or take on waged work to help meet the household’s costs. Missing out on education has long-term implications for a woman’s opportunities later in life and for her own health.

Overcrowded and poor living conditions can contribute to the spread of disease such as tuberculosis, and respiratory infections like pneumonia. A lack of food, clean water and sanitation can also be fatal.

HOW DOE DISESASE AND INFECTIONS AFFECTETHE ECONOMIC GROWTH?

Lives lost mean reduced economic production as well as personal tragedy. Productivity is further slowed while people are ill or caring for others.

There were 1.7 HIV- related deaths in 2007 and 990 thousand deaths from Tuberculosis. Most of these were in among young people and adults in their most productive years.

Malaria reduces economic growth by 1.3 percent in heavily affected countries like Uganda.

WHAT IS TRICH DOING TO HELP

• We are really working hard to reduce the high malaria levels in Uganda by increasing our local communities’ access to prevention and treatment.
• -TRICH is helping to stop high spread of poor water, sanitation and hygiene disease for example diarrhea, dysentery, cholera by rehabilitating the existing water sources and also soliciting for funds to construct at least one water sources on the 8 villages that we have in Bugembe  as many people cannot afford piped water  because, that type of water supply is expensive for a poor family to buy a jerry can at shilling 500