Uganda

The Problem

Uganda was hailed as a prevention success story, halving its HIV/AIDS prevalence levels during the 1990s. However, there has been a small but steady increase in infections recently; following a shift in government policy towards funding abstinence and ‘be faithful’ prevention strategies rather than promoting condom use.
 
Women account for more new infections than men, with married women by far the most vulnerable. Other at risk groups include fishing communities and those displaced by war; more difficult to gauge is the vulnerability of hidden populations such as men who have sex with men, as high stigma and persecution mean access to these communities is severly limited.
 

Around half of all adults needing antiretroviral therapy (ART) are now receiving it; however access is dependent on location, with those in rural areas and in the previously war-torn north severely lacking health and other services. Nationally about 34% of HIV positive pregnant women are accessing prevention treatment for their unborn child, and there are already well over 100,000 children infected with HIV. Over a million more have been orphaned by AIDS, yet services to help them and their carers, often older siblings or elderly grandparents, are limited.  
 

Our Response

EJAF began funding in Uganda over a decade ago, providing support to The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), which is now the country’s largest non-governmental provider of services.  We funded one of the first sites for ART treatment in the country and have supported a pioneering mobile AIDS treatment service for young children.
 
We have also funded a number of community based programmes that help families infected or affected by the disease by providing variety of services, from home based care and counselling for the patient to skills training and micro-loans that help their families build a sustainable livelihood.
 

We have also supported many programmes focusing on the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, including street children, that provide access to education, healthcare, nutrition and psychosocial support such as bereavement counselling. We are now looking to continue and expand our support of women, children and vulnerable groups and extend our geographic reach with the increasing stabilisation of Northern Uganda.
 

For more information on some of our current programmes, please click on one of the projects featured above.
 

To learn more about our current funding priorities and application procedure for Uganda please click on the 'Grant Strategy' link to the left of this page.