By Kabuye Ronald
Uganda will join the rest of the international community to commemorate the World AIDS Day On Sunday 1st December 2024 under the theme “Accelerating Interventions to End AIDS as a Public Health Threat by 2030.” The event will be held in Buyende District, and will be presided over by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Today marks 36 years since the commemoration of the first World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day is an international day dedicated to raising awareness about the HIV and AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV virus that is mostly transmitted through unprotected sexual contact, HIV+ blood and from HIV+ vertical transmission in mother to child.
World AIDS Day gives people an opportunity to remember and stand in solidarity with all those that succumbed to the scourge and all individuals and families that have been affected in one way or another by HIV and AIDS. However, it’s also an opportunity for people to make a SWOT analysis and find their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as they respond to eliminate the epidemic.
The Uganda Aids Commission board chairperson Canon Dr Ruth Senyonyi says HIV/AIDS still remains a health public threat despite various strategies and interventions being laid down to end it by 2030. According to Dr.Ruth, at the start of the scourge, the HIV prevalence (people getting new infections each year) was in double digits -estimated to be 18% among the general population. Similarly, AIDS related deaths were high because having HIV was a death sentence then.
“Today, thanks to innovations, science, and technology, we have made great strides, which have improved our knowledge of how to manage the HIV Virus. We now have rapid HIV testing kits to identify the disease early, drugs to prevent exposed HIV negative people from acquiring HIV, and we have lifelong treatment for those already infected with the HIV virus.
HIV is no longer a death sentence, and we now have people living with HIV, who are healthy and positively contributing to the national economy,” Dr. Ruth stated.
She highlights that currently, the national HIV prevalence stands at 5.1% down from the 18% recorded in the 1990s and early 2000s.Out of the approximately 1,490,000 People Living with HIV, over 1,300,000 are virally suppressed and new HIV infections as well as AIDS related deaths have reduced tremendously.
However, Dr. Ruth revealed that there is still a high burden of new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24. In this group, HIV prevalence is four times higher than that of their male counterparts stressing that many babies (4,700 in 2023) were born with HIV yet there are drugs in the health centers that an HIV positive mother can take to enable her to deliver an HIV negative baby. She notes that Men are most affected in the numbers of AIDS related deaths, and this is attributed to their poor health seeking and high risk-taking behavior.
The acting executive director of Uganda Aids Commission Vicente Bagambe says, although Uganda has made significant progress in ending HIV/AIDS by 2030, its burden remains unacceptably high and gendered with the female shouldering a higher HIV burden compared to the male.
He says the government is to achieve the goal of Ending AIDS as a public health threat, it must re-energize its efforts to reach young people citing that almost half of new infections are adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24.
Bagambe further emphasized the need to address the HIV Stigma and Discrimination as HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination are major barriers to effective HIV National Response. He adds that HIV stigma causes discrimination, discrimination leads to shame, denial, in-action miss-actions and violations of human rights. It negatively impacts HIV testing, treatment, and adherence to treatment.
The UNAIDS country director Jacqueline Makokha has urged the government to increase domestic funding to combat HIV/AIDS emphasizing that domestic resources are crucial to sustaining the country’s progress in fighting the epidemic. Makokha noted that Uganda relies heavily on international funding, which is uncertain and unsustainable. “Domestic funding ensures ownership, sustainability, and accountability,” she stressed.
However, Makokha praised Uganda’s efforts but emphasized that more needs to be done. “We must work together to address the gaps and ensure no one is left behind.”
According to Uganda Aids Commission, the Government spends approximately UGX700,000 to treat one person living with HIV. Due to shifting priorities of the donors over the years, there has been a marked reduction in funding over time which undoubtedly impacts on how much they can do in terms of HIV prevention interventions, HIV testing and other related activities.
