This is a new activity that falls into the category of Strategic Information, but it also relates to activities in

Policy and Guidelines; Information, Education and Communication; Logistics; and Training. This narrative

will cover only the preparatory phase of the 2008 HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey that will be undertaken by

Macro International Inc. (Macro Int.), the organization that has been providing technical assistance to the

USG in the implementation of the four Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS). The 2004-05

Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioral Survey (UHSBS). The 2007 Service Provision Assessment and the

ongoing verbal autopsy for the childhood deaths as a follow up of the 2006 UDHS.

The 2008 AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS) will provide an update of the prevalence of HIV infection from a

nationally representative population survey which can be used to calibrate the data derived from the Ante-

natal Care sentinel surveillance surveys. Moreover, it will update data on knowledge, attitudes and

behaviors related to HIV/AIDS, including prevalence of higher-risk sex and number of sexual partners, as

well as condom use and abstinence. Data on the extent of voluntary HIV testing will also be collected. In

addition to HIV testing, the survey may include tests for other sexually transmitted diseases; however, the

exact design of the survey will be decided on during initial discussions concerning data needs. The data

from the survey will address the monitoring and evaluation needs of HIV/AIDS programs, especially those

funded by the USG and will provide policymakers involved in these programs with information to effectively

plan future interventions. The 2008 AIS will be a follow-up to the 2004-05 UHSBS, as well as to the series of

Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys, most notably the 2006 UDHS. As such, the findings will provide

information about trends in many HIV/AIDS and health indicators over time.

The 2008 AIS will be implemented by USAID Macro Int., under the leadership of the MOH and in

partnership with CDC/Uganda and other development partners. For programming purposes, the 2008 AIS

will be implemented in two phases. The first phase that will be implemented by Macro Int. will cover the

preparatory phase. The second implementation phase will be executed by the Measure DHS follow-on

mechanism that is yet TBD. In order to ensure that first phase meets USG and other development partners'

needs and does not overlap with other planned activities, a steering committee will be set up by the Ministry

of Health, with all major stakeholders represented.

Children < 5 years, women age 15-49 years, and men age 15-54 years will be the focus of the survey. The

main indicators produced from the survey include: HIV infection rate; level of orphanhood; knowledge of

HIV/AIDS and its transmission; rejection of misconceptions about HIV/AIDS; level of stigma towards PHA;

extent of higher-risk sex; condom use at last higher-risk sex; age at first sex; and number of sexual partners

in the previous 12 months. The survey will produce data at the national level, for urban and rural areas, and

probably also for 9 regions (groups of districts). An as yet undetermined laboratory in Uganda will

implement the HIV testing and any other tests that might be included. As has been the case with all surveys

implemented in Uganda under Macro's DHS program, technical assistance contains a strong capacity-

building element, both in the form of on-the-job training and more explicit training courses. The capacity

build by Macro Int. during the previous DHS programs to several data processing programmers at the

Uganda Bureau of Statistics will be used to implement this survey.

Preparatory activities will include survey design, budgeting, HIV testing protocol preparation, sample design

and selection, and questionnaire design. Macro proposes to make 2-3 technical assistance visits to Uganda

to complete the preparatory activities. Deliverables by September 30 2008 will include a survey design

document, an HIV testing protocol, a survey budget—including local, technical assistance, and medical

supply costs—a sample design document, draft questionnaires, and trip reports.