By John Blanshe Musinguzi
A football team is made up of 11 players- a goal
keeper, defenders, midfielders and strikers. All of them have specialised roles
which they must play well for the team to defeat opponents. A goal keeper is
supposed to keep ‘a clean sheet’- make sure that opponents do not score against
his/her team. Defenders are supposed to defend opponents. Midfielders are a
link between defenders and strikers. Strikers’ duty is to score for their team
to triumph.
In a situation where one of them fails to play his
or her role, the team may be vulnerable to defeat. For example when strikers do
not score, then where can goals come from?. According to soccer rules, a team
wins if it scores more goals than the opponent. A team can also be vulnerable
to a defeat when one of it player is given a red card-sent.
Government has pledged to provide anti-retroviral
treatment to all people living with HIV/aids. In Uganda there are about
1.4million people including 190,000 children living with the virus. Currently
on 577,600 people are on treatment, meaning the remaining 77, 4000 will be put
on treatment this year. Government ushered in the policy to provide ARVs a
decade ago (2004) funded by World Bank and Global Fund.
Since 2000, all hospitals in Uganda have been
providing HCT (HIV Counselling and Testing). Government has also been behind
policies aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS transmission such as prevention of mother
to child transmission (PMTCT) amongst others. Now the government is playing the
defensive role that is goal-keeping and defending.
Who are the midfielders then?. Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) are the hard working midfielders. For example The AIDS
Support Organisation (TASO) is one of the indigenous NGO founded in 1987 to
restore optimism and improve the quality of life of persons, families and
communities affected by HIV. These NGOs are spear heading the fight by
providing free condoms in partnership with government and sensitising people
about how to use them. Educating people living with HIV about different prevention
mechanisms such as ABC-Abstinence, Be faithful, and if all fails use Condom. Provision
of free HIV/AIDS testing and counselling services among others and more importantly
extending services to rural areas to for bringing services closer to the
people.
The rest of us will be strikers who will play
tactfully to score wonderful goal. We can
do through fanning ABC prevention methods, testing regularly,
counselling and encouraging others to do so, taking ARVs in time and following
advice from counsellors. We have to accept and stop discriminating those living
with HIV/AIDS; this can help them cope with trauma of the scourge.
Since 1982, when the first case of AIDS was
diagnosis was clinically recognised b then called ‘slim disease,’ those who
suffered from AIDS could become smaller and smaller day by day, AIDS has robbed our son and daughters, parents,
sisters and brother, friends, relatives, work mates, etc. It does not
discriminate between the educated and un educated, young and old, tall and
short, thin and thick, poor and rich, rural and urban based citizens, leaders
and their subjects, etc.
If we work and coordinate together as a soccer team
we can kick HIV/AIDS out of Uganda forever and ever. Amen.
The
author is an undergraduate Journalism and Communication student at Makerere
University
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