Uganda: Home-based HIV treatment extends lives
Off the beaten track east of Uganda's capital, Kampala, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is taking a nurse, a community health worker and a cooler full of life-saving medication to Gayaza village, where they will call on homes affected by HIV/AIDS.
Although more Ugandans than ever are on antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, many HIV-positive people in remote areas still struggle to get the life-prolonging drugs: health professionals are scarce (about one doctor per 12,500 people) and community health centres are few and far between. Most villagers, mainly subsistence farmers, cannot afford to travel long distances to reach them.