November 30, 2012
2012 AVAC Fellow Alice Kayongo played a leading role in developing a civil society report, “The Change We Need to End AIDS in Uganda”, which details concerns and recommendations for shaping the national AIDS response in Uganda. This report was presented at the Joint Annual Review (JAR) of the country’s five-year National Strategic Plan (NSP) for responding to HIV/AIDS, which was first launched about a year ago. The mid-October JAR meeting was an opportunity to review progress and gaps. In the weeks leading up to the JAR, civil society participated in reviews of draft assessments of progress on the various elements of the NSP, including prevention, treatment and care, and health systems strengthening.
Kayongo was joined in this coalition effort by Sylvia Nakasi and Bharam Namanya of UNASO (2011 Fellow and Host Supervisor, respectively), and Leonard Okello, Alice’s Fellowship supervisor and Lillian Mworeko of ICW-EA (2012 Host)—as well as a broad range of other advocates.
The report, presented at the JAR, included a 10-point plan to halt new infections, save lives and ensure leadership, and provided a detailed critique of the national AIDS response to date.
This advocacy comes on the heels of a dynamic and successful campaign to increase funding for and recruitment of more than 6,000 health care workers throughout Uganda.
For a copy of the report, reach out to fellows@avac.org.