Twenty years serving Uganda! AHF Uganda Cares, one of AIDS Healthcare Foundation's first and longest-running global programs, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month under its “Keeping the Promise” pledge to save lives and combat HIV/AIDS in the country. AHF began providing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) to people living with HIV in Uganda in 2002.

Just one year after the program’s start, the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS and World Health Organization recognized Uganda Cares as a best practice model for delivering ART. The program’s first clinic was constructed and commissioned in Masaka in 2005. By this time, AHF Uganda Cares’ registered patient count had grown from 100 in 2003 to 14,000 at this clinic. As of the beginning of July 2022, the program was providing HIV care and treatment to more than 144,000 HIV clients. Uganda is also home to AHF Africa headquarters.

“We are thrilled to arrive at this twenty-year milestone and honor the AHF Uganda Cares program and all the precious lives they have worked tirelessly to save. While much work remains, it is heartwarming to look back on the past two decades to see this team’s inspirational accomplishments,” said Dr. Penninah Iutung, AHF Africa Bureau Chief. “We must also take time to thank our committed government and civil society partners who have helped us in our mission of keeping the promise to deliver essential HIV testing, treatment, and prevention services to the people who need it most.”

“It is gratifying to see transformed lives, full of hope and determination, live on while making positive contributions to their families and society. This could not have happened without the resolve of everyone and the promise to keep our clients on treatment while averting new infections,” added Henry Magala, Country Program Director for AHF Uganda Cares. “The prospects are high to end HIV as a public health threat with a sustained treatment program and closing the tap of new infections—especially among young people.”

Uganda Cares will host a day-long celebration welcoming government and civil society partners, stakeholders, community leaders, and our HIV clients at Masaka Liberation Square, Masaka City, Masaka District.

While delivering treatment was Uganda Cares’ first order of business, it has achieved much more over the last two decades. Highlights include implementing essential HIV and STI prevention services, including condom distribution campaigns that saved countless lives, and implementing the social-economic empowerment project (SEEP) – where over 3,700 enterprising clients benefited from soft loans. Uganda Cares also launched AHF's successful Girls Act program in 2016, which empowers young women and girls to thrive by taking charge of their physical and emotional health.

Additionally, Uganda Cares initiated a Test & Treat project in 2011 with an accompanying clinic to support new clients. It imported 17 CD4 machines in 2012 worth $310,000 to improve patient monitoring, which were donated to the ministry of health. AHF Uganda Cares also expanded to support 64 ART clinics serving tens of thousands of HIV clients over the last two decades.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.5 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Europe. We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.

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