Hope Mafaranga

PMTCT services extended to health center IIIs and excites mothers By Hope Mafaranga In Ntungamo “I never tested for HIV when I was pregnant because the health facility where such services were offered was far. I ended up infecting my first born,” These are the words of Stella Natuhwera of    Ndeija in Rwampara district. Natuhwera says that the health where she could get services is at Itojo Hospital in Ntungamo district or Mbarara regional referral hospital about 40 and 50 kilometers respectively. Natuhwera said that, after two years, she conceived and went to Bugamba Health Center III where she was started on treatment when her pregnancy was just three months.   Today Natuhwera is proud mother of a nine months HIV free baby girl. Many women have infected their babies after failure to go to health because of long distance. In 2010, Dina and Umar Mugarura their dream of having healthy babies was shattered after the couple tested positive to HIV. Dina aged 3

    Lack of water threats lives in Rwampara By Hope Mafaranga   People in Rwampara,  Mbarara district are sleeping on empty stomach due to lack of water. The most affected areas are Kashuro, Kyankyere and Kiyonga.   Alfred Bikitwoho are resident of Kashuro says that the three villages share one spring and queue is too long to bear. “When someone goes to fetch water at 3pm, he/ she will return after midnight when all children and the rest of the family members are a sleep,” he said. He said the spring which was constructed   in 1984 to serve a small population can no longer do serve them because the household has grown from 200 in 1984 to over 800 now.   He said that the challenge of water is time wasting and people have resorted to taking and using unsafe and clean water. In a desperate move, James Nuwagaba has dug a 40fit pit to tap water that flows during rain seasons.   Nuwagaba who termed the water scarcity as a “curse” said that the area has been neglected by gover

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced a goal of raising US$15 billion so that it can effectively support countries in fighting these three infectious diseases in the 2014-2016 period.   The Global Fund is determined to accelerate the gains achieved in recent years against AIDS, TB and malaria through strategic investment in programs that can save millions of lives and tens of billions of dollars in future costs. While acknowledging the challenging fiscal environment in many countries, the Global Fund and its partners point to the remarkable value for money that investing in health provides. “We have a choice: we can invest now or pay forever,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Innovations in science and implementation have given us a historic opportunity to completely control these diseases. If we do not, the long-term costs will be staggering.” President Joyce Banda of Malawi, a leader in efforts to prevent and treat