A staggering 160 people living with HIV in Lyantonde District have abandoned their antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment, sparking concerns about the risk of drug resistance and transmission.
According to Dr Cecilia Nattembo, the Masaka regional director of Uganda Cares, health workers need to put in more effort in tracking those who are not adhering to treatment.”
“In the last quarter alone, 160 clients got lost and we are wondering where they could be, posing a significant risk to the community,” she said on Wednesday while handing over nine bicycles from Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Uganda Cares to Village Health Teams (VHTs).
The bicycles, valued at Shs700,000 each, aim to enhance VHTs’ mobility and enable them to track clients who initiate treatment, but default, conduct home visits to encourage adherence, test families for other diseases like Malaria and TB as well as guiding patients on accessing treatment.
Lyantonde District Health Officer Dr Moses Nkanika attributed the district’s high HIV prevalence, which currently stands at 10.1 percent, to sex workers who are increasingly coming to the area.
“Some sex workers spend a few weeks in the area and leave, suspecting they might be among those missing appointments,” he observed.
Male Paul Kyateeka, representing the Chief Administrative Officer at the handover, cautioned VHTs to exercise extra care while using the bicycles to avoid road carnage and theft.
He urged Uganda Cares to develop guidelines for responsible bike usage.
Lyantonde District Vice Chairperson Jane Francis Nakasi appealed to the public to support VHTs in tracing the missing patients to “minimize risk transmission.”
Lyantonde District’s HIV prevalence rate is above the national average of 5.4 percent.
The records at Lyantonde Hospital indicate that 100 patients missed appointments for ARV drugs in every quarter and between May –July, 160 people living with the viral disease abandoned treatment in the district and are not traceable.
Currently, the district has a total of 8,246 HIV patients on antiretroviral treatment.
Masaka Sub region, where Lyantonde District, falls is where the first HIV case in Uganda was identified in 1982. The region has consistently had the highest HIV burden in the country, according to data from three consecutive national HIV/Aids surveys at: 10.6 percent in 2011, 8.0 percent in 2016 and 8.1 percent prevalence in 2020 respectively.
