SAVING MOTHERS

In February 2000 in Kabubbu, about 20 kilometres north of Kampala, accompanied by a nurse, we met with a lady in her late 60's living alone. She told of her four sons. Her eldest son married, they had children, and then he died. Her next son married the same lady. The story was repeated, and repeated by her other two sons. Eventually the wife of all her four sons died, as did most of the children.

The wife was a carrier of the HIV virus. It was as though she had 'killed' her four husbands, their children and then herself. We saw five large concrete slab graves in the land around her house where they were buried - and the six small graves of the children.

Although it is the second biggest killer in Uganda after malaria, HIV/AIDS has not been a disease to admit to having. It has carried a stigma. Men deny they have AIDS but if they think they do they commonly go to the Witchdoctor whose prescribed cure is to sleep with a virgin.

Mothers carry the responsibility for raising their children. Few fathers will be actively involved. But the husband maintains he must have regular unprotected sex with his wife as part of his manly rights and often passes HIV/AIDS to her. This is usually a death sentence to his wife because of the prohibitive cost of treatment and will leave his children motherless. But things are changing.

HIV/AIDS treatment can now be obtained free of charge through several agencies. Education and community sensitisation to the problem is slowly removing the stigma. In Kabubbu we have seen an increase in the number of mothers seeking help. Through treatment at the AIDS Support Centre we are starting to save mothers lives and giving their children a chance to grow and mature in their own home environment. It is funding a protein filled diet that is now a looming problem.

And - something to be cheered by - some men are now owning up to having the disease and are undergoing treatment!

To Save a Life in Kabubu - click here