What befell Acholiland and its people in the last two decades has been told and re-told several times and will definitely continue to be told for years to come.
The deaths, abductions and disruption of the socio-economic fabric of a society that was herded into the infamous internally displaced people’s camps do present rich sources of very compelling stories.
The guns have now fallen silent and efforts by government and development partners among others to try and heal the wounds are around us.
Unfortunately, as the healing process rides on the peace now being enjoyed, the expected beneficiaries are abusing the efforts by engaging in acts that are again putting their lives at risk.
There are rampant cases of violent land disputes, gender-based violence and robberies as people who huddled together in fear of a common enemy Kony, turn against one another basically for selfish reasons.
Then there is HIV/AIDS. Most young people especially in the urban centers think the restoration of peace means reckless enjoyment in bars and clubs which have exposed them to HIV infection.
National and international surveys talk of a high HIV prevalence in post-war northern Uganda, especially in Acholi not comparable to any other part of the country.
Like in Pader the National Sero-Behaviour Survey puts the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate at 11 percent against the national average of 6.4 percent.
But what surprises the more is that despite this worrying trend which has been made public, no one including visitors and residents in the district seem to care.
In many of the disco clubs and drinking joints this reporter visited, commercial sex is brisk business. Most youth ignorantly compares HIV to Malaria which they say no longer kills.
Alfred Akena, the district vice chairman also secretary for health agrees with the observation saying it is the biggest challenge in the fight against HIV/AIDs in the district.
Alfred Ojara, a traditional herbalist has taken advantage of the situation to put his medical prowess to the forefront claiming he can cure Aids.
The 48 year-old healer explains how he discovered the local medicines which he is now using to treat the more than 400 clients living with HIV/AIDS.
He explains that he got the confidence that his medicines can cure sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis-TB in 1991 after he treated himself and got cured of syphilis.
Ojara says his medicine is a concoction made from roots of different tree species which he dries and pounds into powder.
He says he charges his clients between 25, 000 to 60, 000 shillings for treatment.
Ojara has a list of more than 400 people living with HIV/AIDS mainly women from within Uganda and across the borders from Kenya, DRC and Southern Sudan who he is treating.
However Ojara’s intervention has attracted criticism from the district health officials who accuse him of de-campaigning the ARV therapy.
They also maintain that Ojara’s drug does not cure AIDS.
Alfred Akena, Pader district vice chairman also secretary for health says they have received reports indicating that a number of those on ARV drugs have abandoned them for Ojara’s medicine.
This has drawn the attention of officials from World Health Organization who visited Ojara’s clients to investigate his wonder drug.
Last year a team collected blood samples from five clients. Two of them tested negative while three tested positive. The negative samples and Ojara’s drug were taken for further investigation.
However, Ojara’s clients claim their health is now much better.
