A comprehensive IOM mapping of HIV and AIDS service availability
for internally displaced people (IDPs) in seven districts in
northern Uganda has revealed that people are facing significant
difficulties in accessing assistance such as counseling, treatment
and support.

Care and support for orphans and other vulnerable children as
well as people living with HIV and AIDS was highlighted as a
significant problem for authorities and organizations providing
assistance on the ground due to the overwhelming numbers of people
needing help and limited resources and capacity to respond to the
needs.

 

The mapping was carried out in the districts of Gulu, Amuru,
Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Oyam and Apac, the main areas affected by
years of conflict between the Ugandan authorities and the Lords
Resistance Army (LRA), where an estimated 1.4 million IDPs still
live in camps.

IDP leaders also stressed the lack of information on which HIV
and AIDS services were available and where to go, while other
results from the mapping exercise included evidence of gaps in
referral systems and an inequitable geographical distribution of
services to the IDP communities.

 

Uganda has been seen as a success story in terms of fighting the
disease with a significant decrease in prevalence rates during the
1990s which stabilized from 2000. However, it now seems the burden
of the AIDS epidemic has grown, according to UNAIDS which also
states there are an estimated one million people living with HIV
and another one million children orphaned by AIDS in the country.
The HIV prevalence rate in the north central region of Uganda is
amongst the highest in the country, with particular concerns over
potential increasing infections due to the heightened vulnerability
of IDPs, particularly amongst women and girls.

"If a difference is to be made in assisting vulnerable
populations affected by HIV and AIDS, there is undoubtedly a need
for more resources to be made available and for programmes aimed at
giving better access to services among the IDP population," said
Angela St. Jules, IOM project officer in Kampala. "There needs to
be better coordination and information flow among all those
involved in providing these services to improve systematic referral
and access to HIV and AIDS services amongst the IDP
populations."

IOM is working closely with the government of Uganda district
authorities to support the improvement of HIV and AIDS coordination
at the district level. As part of the mapping exercise, IOM
provided technical support in data management, as well as improved
capacity to manage information which included the provision of
computers and office furniture.

The mapping, carried out at the request of the UN Technical
Working Group on HIV and AIDS and the National Committee on AIDS in
Emergency Settings (NACAES) under the leadership of the Ugandan
AIDS Commission (UAC), is part of a joint UN programme on health,
nutrition and HIV/AIDS in northern Uganda funded by the British
Department for International Development (DFID).

 

For further information, please contact:

Angela St. Jules

IOM Kampala

Tel: +254204444174

E-mail: "mailto:astjules@iom.int">astjules@iom.int