By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Amid a three-week suspension of public and private transport in Uganda due to the coronavirus, some HIV-positive Ugandans have struggled to get hold of needed antiretroviral medications. Noticing a higher risk for HIV patients with compromised immune systems, health worker Simon Bukenya jumped on his bicycle and began making home deliveries, even going long distances to do it.

Simon Peter Bukenya has been living with HIV for 30 years and understands the importance of taking antiretroviral drugs. A lockdown due to the coronavirus has stranded Ugandans in need of medical attention, including people who are HIV-positive.

Bukenya says on a daily basis, he bicycles more than 80 kilometers to deliver medications to those who need them. He says he started with three patients, and word of his services spread after he posted a notice on Facebook.

“There’s even a client that called me and sent me a WhatsApp, when she had gotten herpes zoster, and she’s home," said Bukenya. "She’s breastfeeding, she has a two-months-old baby and she’s going through a lot. So, that’s what really motivated me; that’s how I started.” Read more via VOA