Greetings from Larenstein. My name is Gerald Kitaka and I am currently in a Tropical Animal Production programme at larenstein. I come from a principally pastoralist district in Uganda. As you would expect, my research project is centred about pastoralists.I am trying to establish whether there is a link between transhumance and the vulnerability of pastoralists to HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as how the epidemic impacts on this farming system. The objective of this research is to define the main issues at stake between the transhumance of pastoralists and the AIDS epidemic. The criteria generated will hopefully serve to inform the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS in livestock extension programs and policies in my district, country and the region.

paper presented at second LAPNARD network meeting Zambia

paper presented at the second LAPNARD network meeting in Zambia

LAPNARD country network UGANDA – June 2002

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Uganda, contributing over 70 % of the cross domestic product. It provides over 60 % of the expert earning and all the food for the country’s population of over 22 millions. The sector employs 83 % of the employed household population.

HIV/AIDS in Uganda: The government policy
HIV/AIDS in Uganda was first sited as early as 1982 from the southern district of Rakai, bordering with Tanzania. But the government’s first response to the epidemic dates back to 1986 when an AIDS control program (ACP) was created in the Ministry of Health. In recognition of the fact that HIV/AIDS has causes and consequences far beyond the health sector, the Uganda AIDS commission was established in 1992 and placed under the office of the president to co-ordinate the multisectoral efforts against the epidemic. The ‘multisectoral approach to the control of AIDS’ (MACA) was developed and adopted in 1993 as a national policy and strategy against HIV/AIDS. This policy calls for individual and/or collective involvement of everyone within their capacities and mandates to fight the epidemic.

Paper prepared for second LAPNARD network meeting May 2004 Lusaka, by Bazira Silver, Agricultural Engineer, Executive Director NGO & Vocational school and Coordinator Development project in Uganda