After the tour, we were invited to a presentation by David Nanongo, area manager, The AIDS Service Organization, Tororo area. TASO, founded in 1987 by a group of volunteers, provides counseling, medical care, training, advocacy, community education and supportive services to people living with HIV/AIDS. TASO operates on five different levels: personal level—one-on-one counseling; family level—supportive services for affected families; community level—community development initiatives; national level—public awareness campaigns; and the international level—participation in global dialogues and research projects. Robert Ochai gave an overview of TASO’s role in the collaboration with CDC and the Ministry of Health. One of the key components of TASO is the “drama group.” The drama group, composed of people living with HIV, uses drama, song and dance to convey prevention messages about HIV/AIDS.

After the dramatic presentations, we were taken into the field to meet and talk with women and men currently taking antiretroviral medicines as part of the HBAC project. CDC is currently monitoring approximately 1,000 men and women who are taking ARVs. Through the HBAC project, CDC hopes to establish a series of protocols for the delivery of ARVs in rural settings. It was important for our delegation to see the protocols in practice. Many of the PWAs we were to meet had been taking ARVs for more than six month utilizing the HBAC methodology of monthly visits from a case manager, medical support from a family member, and annual hospital visits.

My small group had a chance to visit two women on ARVs. First we went to the home of Rosemary. Approximately 30 years of age, Rosemary is a mother of two children, married to a police officer who had custody of their two children. Rosemary had been living in Rwanda and received her diagnosis there. When she became ill, she returned to Uganda, to be cared for by her family. To her knowledge, her husband has not been tested. She has been a part of the project since its inception. Her health has improved dramatically since she started taking ARVs and her mother and sisters are very nearby, available to make certain the medicines are adhered to and any changes are noted for the monthly visit by the HBAC case manager. This part of Uganda is very rural. Our drive into the countryside took us about two hours from the hospital. We were greeted by all of the family members and invited to join them under the shade tree. The family was eager to tell us about the miracle of ARVs. Our visit to meet Rosemary and her family helped us to see even when there is no clean, safe and easily accessible water and no electricity and no phone nearby, treatment for HIV is possible and welcomed.