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Uganda: New Hope for the Health of HIV-Positive KAMPALA, Uganda, November 10, 2005 — Starting today, HIV-positive Ugandans will begin receiving a free health package to help them maintain their health and prevent HIV transmission to others, whether or not they are on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). PSI/Uganda will distribute the Basic Preventive Care Package kits to over 200,000 HIV-positive Ugandans over the next five years through care and support organizations across the country. PSI/Uganda held the launch this afternoon on the campus of Mulago Medical School here in the presence of U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires William E. Fitzgerald, Uganda's Acting Director General of Health Dr. Sam Zaramba and other Ugandan and U.S. officials. This pilot program is funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The Basic Preventive Care Package, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health, the AIDS Support Organization and PSI, enables HIV positive people to live longer and healthier lives whether or not they are on ARVs. It is well-suited for poor communities because it builds on existing public health interventions to deliver high impact results. The kit is a patient-managed, home-based care system that empowers HIV positive people to prevent opportunistic infections, delay the progression of HIV to AIDS and prevent transmission of HIV to others. The contents of the package, selected based on research and data collected from Ugandan health care evaluations, include antibiotics, long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets, a water disinfection product and vessel, educational material regarding HIV counseling and testing and, as appropriate, condoms. — Carlie Danielson, PSI/Washington
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