As written in the New Vision by John Eremu

THE United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has given the Islamic Medical Association of Uganda (IMAU) a boost of US$200,000 (sh350m) for the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission in communities. The grant was announced by the US ambassador, Mr. Martin Brennan, during the International Muslim Leaders’ Consultation Conference on AIDS which opened in Kampala yesterday. The five-day conference, co-sponsored by the US government, has brought together Muslim leaders from 20 countries across the globe. The conference code named “jihad on AIDS” ends on Sunday. “The consultation will provide the international Muslim community with an opportunity to share best practices in preventing HIV/AIDS” the American centre said in a statement. However, there was drama when a group of about five Muslims attempted to disrupt Brennan’s speech by continuously shouting “Allah Akhbar” at the top of their voices. They later stormed out of the Conference Centre in protest. The IMAU president, Dr. Magid Kagimu, blasted them and urged Muslims to always keep their emotions down. “There is no need to show your emotions anyhow. We don’t want emotions here” he said. Brennan disclosed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was working on a programme to give out seed grants of between US$5,000 to US$8,000 (sh8.7m-sh14m) for faith-based activities focused on the care for people affected by HIV/AIDS.