There are Problems when you mix Politics with Health Care

It’s been a challenging week.

On Tuesday Malcolm was invited to a briefing by the Inter Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) which represents all faiths in Uganda. Faith based health units, such as Kiwoko, treat over 50% of the population of Uganda.

Because of the controversy about the Ugandan Government’s decision to toughen its laws to prevent the promotion of homosexuality, and the IRCU’s support of the new law, the White House has announced six months into this year’s programme that it is cutting this year’s grant  to IRCU by 75%, and with immediate effect. This grant pays for most of HIV prevention and treatment work of faith based health units in Uganda.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/03/24/promoting-regional-security-and-protecting-human-rights-uganda

(Most of the White House blog is about the US sending helicopters to bases in Uganda to attack the rebels in the Central African Republic. The cut to HIV funding to Uganda is at the end)

We currently treat over 2,000 AIDS patients, with over 700 new cases identified each year. The good news is that for the time being the existing patients will continue to receive their treatment, and pregnant mothers will continue to be tested and those found HIV+ will receive treatment to prevent the infection passing to their baby.

 

 The bad news is that:

-          -    despite what the White House thinks, being half way through the year we have already spent half the grant. By cutting funds by 3/4 there is none left to employ staff to run the clinics or counsel patients unlwss the hospital diverts funds from other services

-      -   any new patients will no longer receive free tests and treatment, existing patients will have to pay for tests for any supplementary infections associated with HIV and,

       -    the Hospital’s outreach and preventative work will stop. 

      To a poor community where people are struggling to survive the impact of the costs of testing and treating a chronic disease is devastating.

Already this week one of our counsellors, Bosco, had to tell a man who had travelled, mainly on foot, 14 miles to get to the Hospital that not only is he HIV+ but we are no longer able to start him on treatment. Instead he will need to travel another 25 miles to the nearest Government Hospital where he may be able to get treatment. Travelling so far for treatment was a prospect the man was unable to face.

In the announcement the White House says funds will be transferred to other partners. We are hoping that this will be to continue the work of preventing and treating AIDS in Uganda and that soon our patients will have some hope to replace the despair and anger against America, as well as the resolve that there should be no compromise on the law that we are beginning to see.

This week's African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Nigeria: 

“A traveller to distant places should make no enemies”