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Slim disease originates at Lake Victoria and spreads along Urban sexual networks and major highways. Uganda's HIV epidemic has begun.
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The first case of HIV was diagnosed and Slim disease was officially recognised. Many articles and journals published around this time.
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President Museveni comes to power, and through his commitment to tackling HIV, a prevention programme based around ‘being faithful’ is created.
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An AIDS control programme is set up in 1987 based around education and the ABC approach (abstain, be faithful, use condoms). Small grass-roots organisations begin peer education initiatives. E.g. TASO (The AIDS Support Organization), which later became the largest indigenous AIDS service organisation providing emotional and medical support to thousands of people.
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The number of Ugandan men reporting three or more non-marital sexual partners fell from 15 percent to 3 percent, another benefit of Uganda's strategy.
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The ABC approach is implemented. The population is mobilised in the fight against HIV through frank and honest discussions. Condoms are heavily promoted and distributed and usage of them rises.
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Large amounts of government and international donor funding, e.g. the World Bank, allows prevention initiatives to thrive throughout the nineties. However, despite these efforts, AIDS-related deaths soar because treatment is not yet widely available. In 1995, 91 percent of Ugandan men and 86 percent of women knew someone who was HIV positive
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In 2000 an estimated 800,000 Ugandans had died of AIDS-related illnesses since the epidemic began
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Sex education and condom promotion are no longer as mainstream as they were in the nineties. This caused great criticism of Uganda's relationship with PEPFAR and the way their investment seems to have changed Uganda's strategy.
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Uganda launches its first PMTCT policy guidelines
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Abstinence until marriage controversially becomes the dominant strand of the ABC approach since 2003, following significant investment of money for abstinence-only programmes from PEPFAR.
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Free antiretroviral drugs become available in 2004. South Africa criticsed American pharmaceuticals for their lack of flexibility in price during an epidemic. Bill Clinton announced the changes in 2000 but the changes took time to implement, finally helping Ugandans in 2004.
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All condoms distributed free in health clinics are recalled in 2005 over reliability concerns. Condom use during sex with non-regular partners is 51 percent in 2005, much lower than hoped for and raised concern over Uganda's reliance on PEPFAR, and its utilisation of faith based NGOs.
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Uganda's HIV prevalence rate has grown steadily, from 5% in 2006 to 7.2% today. After an impressive reduction of their HIV prevalence rate, a new strategy may be needed to remain 'on top' of the epidemic. Concern remains due to poor education, lack of condom promotion and a leader who no longer has anything to prove, having been in power for the entirity of this timeline.
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