Uganda will soon launch a door to door blood testing survey to get a more accurate picture of the number of Ugandans with HIV or AIDS.
An estimated 100 000 people in Uganda have AIDS, out of a population of 25 million. Many are in urgent need of antiretroviral drugs.
Critics have disputed Uganda's figures, saying they are based mostly on data from pregnant women who visit antenatal clinics, among whom the disease may be more prevalent than in the general population.
The exercise is planned to take place between March and June next year and will be carried out by the Ugandan health ministry, with the support of the US Agency for International Development, the the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. Other organisations involved include the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Unicef, the UN Population Fund, and the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics.
Health teams will go from door to door, randomly selecting people for testing and obtaining consent before tests are done. About 30 000 people will be tested across the country.
The teams will test people of both sexes in two age groups: 0 to 5 years and between 15 and 59 years. People aged between 5 and 15 years have been left out because health experts believe that this group has few HIV positive people.
Dr Joshua Musinguzi, senior medical officer in the country's AIDS control programme, said the survey teams would not record people's names, and so their HIV status will not be known to anybody else. The blood will be taken from people's veins and put in tubes that will be labelled with numbers and not names, he said. The blood will also be tested for syphilis, herpes simplex virus 2, and hepatitis B. People found to have syphilis will be treated free of charge.
Dr Musinguzi also said that respondents will be told of the objectives and advantages of the programme before being asked to participate. Participants who wish to know their HIV infection status can record their code numbers and ask for results.
Respondents will also be asked about their sexual behaviour and knowledge of and attitude towards HIV and AIDS. The questionnaire will also ask about their attitude towards caring for sick people.
The Ugandan government is providing free testing for HIV in over 30 centres across the country. These do not include centres run by the AIDS Information Centre, a government agency that monitors AIDS, or by non-governmental organisations.
Many international drug companies are investing in Uganda because of the country's openness in handling HIV and AIDS. Some countries in Africa have been disinclined to admit that they have a problem.
The cheapest triple combination treatment for AIDS now costs about $30 (£18; €25) a month, compared with $600 a month three years ago. However, most people cannot afford even the cheapest triple treatment.
Uganda is one of the leading countries in Africa in promoting awareness of HIV and AIDS. The number of cases of people infected with HIV is reported to be dropping, as is the number of new infections.
In the early 1980s Uganda had about 1.9 million people infected with HIV. The number dropped to about 1.5 million by 1996-7, owing to death and to awareness programmes. The number of new infections fell from about 112 000 in 1999 to about 99 000 in 2000.