Traditional birth attendants have been blamed for the increased Mother to Child Transmissions of HIV, through which many children get infected.

Uganda Primary health care state minister James Kakooza

An officer from the Ministry of Health Dr. Isaac Eziat said that the number of children getting infected with HIV is increasing and this could be as a result of unprofessional midwives in the villages who do not know what to do when the baby is coming out of the mother in order to prevent HIV positive mothers from infecting their babies.

Speaking at the National AIDS day function that was conducted at Kitabi Primary School in Rubaga-Kampala, Dr. Eziat said the report from the Ministry indicates that the number of children acquiring HIV at birth has tremendously increased to 250,000 annually though there is Prevention of Mother to Child Infection services in every hospital.

During the same function, the Minister of State for Health, James Kakooza appealed to Ugandans not to become complacent as the threat of HIV is still with us.

Meanwhile the Chairman of the National Council of Children Luis Bwambale has asked the parents to talk to their children about the HIV/AIDS pandemic as another way to create awareness.

By Issa Asuman