[procaare] Ex-envoy criticises Museveni on Aids remarks

["Uganda Monitor Online" <procaare@healthnet.org>]

Ex-envoy criticises Museveni on Aids remarks
Monitor Online: Oct 1 2007
TABU BUTAGIRA, KAMPALA
****************

THE Assistant US Global Aids Coordinator, Mr Jimmy Kolker, has 
expressed worry that President Yoweri Museveni's remarks that 
"dying of Aids is treason" could trigger public stigma against 
persons living with HIV/Aids.

In a September 28 e-mail to Daily Monitor, Mr Kolker, who once 
served as US ambassador to Uganda, said it was "excellent" to 
pursue Mr Museveni's comments to ensure that they "do not 
contribute to stigma, misunderstanding and divisions".

While addressing Student Guild Council officials from 12 Ugandan 
universities at UMA conference hall in Kampala on September 24, Mr 
Museveni compared contracting HIV/Aids virus to treason. Treason is 
a capital offence punishable by death under the Ugandan law.

In the past, anti-Aids activists the world over have steadfastly 
extolled the Ugandan leader's unwavering commitment to fight the 
deadly scourge and offered him a number of coveted awards for his 
shinning performance.

Through Mr Museveni's personal stewardship, Uganda pursued the 
Abstinence, Being faithful to a sexual partner and correct and 
consistent use of Condoms advocacy campaign and the ABC model 
enabled the country to drastically cut back national HIV prevalence 
from double digits in the early 1990s down to the 6.4 per cent 
today.

"We do cite Uganda's (HIV) success stories and the President's role 
in them," wrote Mr. Kolker who was due to leave Washington at the 
end of September to take up his new assignment as head of Unicef's 
HIV/Aids office in New York today.

"We need him (Museveni) to remain a spokesman for the positive 
messages needed to prevent Aids and mobilise people to continue the 
fight for the affected," he added.

Mr Museveni said at the Lugogo conference that most youths in 
Uganda get ruined by "running after women and men".

"Instead of being an asset, you become a burden (when you get 
infected). And afterwards, they announce (over the radios) that he 
died after a very long illness.is that not treason?" he asked the 
muted audience. Mr Frank Mutagubya, in a complaint published in the 
Daily Monitor on Friday, said the President's words were in bad 
taste and discriminative against people infected and affected by 
Aids.

"I can imagine their (comments') impact on the suffering poor 
patients agonising with pain on bare hospital floors without drugs 
to sooth the pain," Mr Mutagubya said of the country's skeletal 
medical facilities.

However, leading HIV/Aids activists in the country have not 
publicly responded to the President's remarks that could 
potentially ignite stigma to persons living with HIV/Aids and 
compromise openness towards helping those infected and affected by 
the pandemic.

Worse still, it could discourage HIV positive people from declaring 
their sero-status and seek medical assistance for fear of being 
stigmatised - a saddening re-enactment of the derogatory treatment 
of Aids patients in the 1990s.

Online: http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news1003.php