Clan leaders to disclose HIV status of dead relatives

Lango clan leaders (Owitong) have unanimously agreed to disclose HIV status of their dead relatives so as to prevent transmission of the deadly virus.
Mr Benson Dila, the speaker of Lango Cultural Foundation, confirmed to Daily Monitor in an interview yesterday that they have already started implementing the resolution.
He said people always refuse to disclose their HIV status when they are still alive because of potential negative consequences associated with HIV disclosure such as abandonment and discrimination.
“When any of my clan members dies of HIV, I always reveal what caused his or her death during their funeral. I also make it very clear that whoever wants to come and inherit the widow or widower be ready for the consequences,” Mr Dila said.
He advised all Owitong to be exemplary by going for HIV test.
“We should not be talking about HIV when we don’t know our HIV status,” the speaker said.
Dr Richard Nam, the prime minister of Lango Cultural Foundation, said declaring HIV status of dead persons would prevent people from starting sexual relationships with HIV-infected spouses they have left behind.
He said it was realised that failing to disclose HIV status is one of the factors increasing transmission since people whose relatives die of HIV normally attribute it to witchcraft.
“We have decided that if someone wants to come and arrest us because we have revealed that the person died of HIV/Aids, let him come and arrest us,” Dr Nam said.
“We are going to stress that when you come to the point of the death, you should say this one died of HIV and Aids complications.”
The law bars health officials from declaring one’s HIV status unless under certain circumstances.
Mr Bosco Okello, a resident of Teso Bar in Lira Municipality has welcomed the idea.
“It’s a good idea because it will prepare us to face the reality,” another resident of Ireda Lumumba, Lira Municipality, Mr Sam Opio, said.
The coordinator of private sector at Uganda Aids Commission, Mr Tom Etii said, out of 1.4 million people who are HIV positive in Uganda, 28,000 of them die every year.
“As Uganda Aids Commission, we have decided to bring on board cultural leaders to help us in sensitising the youth on HIV,” Mr Etii said at a meeting held in Lira Town on Friday.
He said they want to roll out the Presidential Fast Track Initiative with the aim of fighting HIV/Aids.
Ms Lucy Otto, an official from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, blamed parents for not sensitising their children about the dangers of HIV. She said because they are not sensitised, the young people engage in risky sexual behaviours that expose them to the virus.
HIV/aids facts
In 2018, an estimated 1.4 million people were living with HIV, and an estimated 23,000 Ugandans died of Aids-related illnesses.
As of 2018, the estimated HIV prevalence among adults (aged 15 to 49) stood at 5.7 per cent. Women are disproportionately affected, with 8.8 per cent of adult women living with HIV compared to 4.3 per cent of men. There were 53,000 new HIV cases, 73 per cent adults on antiretroviral treatment, 66 per cent children on antiretroviral treatment.

(Source: UNAIDS data 2019)