Before Uganda鈥檚 coronavirus lockdown, HIV-positive Matina had a morning routine. After waking she drank tea, ate something small and took her antiretroviral drugs as doctors instructed.

But since restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 were introduced in March, her situation has changed. She has nothing to eat so she avoids her medicine as it makes her feel nauseous and dizzy if taken without food.

Matina, 67 鈥� who asked to go by her first name for fear of stigma due to having HIV since 2014 鈥� said her relatives cannot work due to rules against travel and non-essential services. The seven children she supports eat at most one meal a day.

鈥淐orona has brought so many problems to me,鈥� Matina said while sitting outside her small grass-roof home in a leafy, poor part of Gulu, northern Uganda.

鈥淕etting food is not easy. I cannot buy beans because the price has increased and I cannot afford it. There鈥檚 no money. Maybe corona is better because the hunger will just kill you.鈥�

Two months into a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, many Ugandans are struggling.

In Uganda, about 1.4 million people, or just over 3 percent of the population, are living with HIV or AIDS, according to government figures, one of the highest rates in east Africa, with about 23,000 people dying each year and 50,000 new infections.

Women are disproportionately affected, accounting for nearly 60 percent of adults living with HIV.

New infections among young women aged 15鈥�24 years are more than double those among young men and stigma against those with HIV is rife. Uganda has, however, made major strides to combat HIV/AIDS, bringing the infection rate down from 18.5 percent in 1992, according to UN data, with 1 million people on drugs to slow HIV developing and hold off progression into AIDS.

The national parliament in 2014 criminalized the intentional transmission of the disease.

But the fast spread of the coronavirus meant Uganda鈥檚 lockdown included a nationwide travel ban imposed with one hour鈥檚 notice, leaving no opportunity to plan.

Local authorities said they had no time to make proper provision for people with chronic illnesses, or those who needed emergency healthcare.

At least 11 pregnant women have died because of problems accessing maternal healthcare, according to the Kampala-based Women鈥檚 Pro-Bono Initiative.

鈥淭his element was not addressed at the initial stage of this lockdown due to the pandemic,鈥� said Dr Kaggwa Mugagga, HIV advisor at the World Health Organization in Uganda.

鈥淲e had to sit back and look at what was the impact of the lockdown on various programs.鈥�

He said at first there were problems distributing medicine but increasing numbers of volunteers are cycling and on motorcycles to deliver drugs to HIV patients whose compromised immune systems are feared to put them at greater risk of COVID-19.

Uganda鈥檚 Ministry of Health has also set up a program to allow community health workers to collect HIV pills for patients.

But more recently, Mugagga said he has heard increasing reports about food shortages due to people being unable to work. The ongoing uncertainty has been 鈥減sychological torture鈥� for people with HIV, he said.

Dr Joshua Musinguzi, the AIDS control manager in Uganda鈥檚 Ministry of Health, said the government has been trying to address problems with food as well as supplying people with the drugs they need.

The government has also urged the public not to relax efforts in combatting HIV/AIDS despite all energies being targeted towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far infected about 250 people in Uganda.

鈥淲e are not in normal times so it is possible that not all of them are being reached. There could be gaps and patients could be experiencing hardships,鈥� said Musinguzi.

The AIDS Support Organization, a non-governmental organization set up in 1987, is continuing with testing, the distribution of medication, home visits for bedridden patients, and following up with people who miss appointments.

Michael Ochwo, TASO鈥檚 Gulu center programs manager, said while some patients say they are struggling to eat, 鈥渃urrently the funding does not provide for food.鈥�

He said TASO is speaking to the government taskforces to see what can be done. In Layibi, a neighborhood in Gulu, Walter Ojara, 49, is mourning his sister, whom he described as friendly and popular.

Beatrice Oceer, who was HIV positive, died aged 33 on March 21, days after the ban on public transport came into force.

Oceer was a victim of domestic violence and previously stopped taking antiretroviral medication for a few months when she escaped her husband, Walter explained.

In the months before the lockdown, she contracted tuberculosis and again missed medication when she had no food to take it with.

As the pandemic began to spread, she stopped eating totally.

鈥淭he impact of the lockdown caused a lot of problems because there鈥檚 no movement, no money, no one can support you,鈥� Ojara said outside the metal-sheet roofed home he had shared with his sister, wife and children.

Oyoo Robert Ricky, a health center facilitator in the Gulu clinic where Oceer was treated, said a shortage of food was becoming a problem nearly everywhere.

Three of 941 HIV/AIDS patients have died since restrictions began, he said, including a 34-year-old mother of two.

In a neighborhood nearby, Acen, a single mother with five children, laughed sadly when asked what she鈥檚 eaten during the lockdown. Once a day she boils plants, but it鈥檚 not enough, she said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hungry, the children are complaining, there鈥檚 nothing to do because it鈥檚 not there, there鈥檚 nothing available to give to them,鈥� said Acen, 36, who has battled HIV for six years after contracting it from her ex-husband who cheated on her.

While she continues to take her antiretroviral drugs, Acen said it was causing her problems.

鈥淚t鈥檚 punishing me a lot when you take a medication on an empty stomach, it gives you a funny sickness,鈥� said Acen, who also asked for only her first name to be used.

Before the pandemic she would help out in people鈥檚 houses in return for a small payment. Now, she said she can鈥檛 afford a mask which she鈥檚 obligated to wear to collect her medication. 鈥淲e would rather buy food,鈥� she said.