Govt, mayors partner to re-ignite HIV fight in urban areas
A health worker analyses blood samples collected from people living with HIV/Aids. Shortage of funds, coupled with Covid-19 disruptions, affected outreaches, distribution of condoms, HIV testing and treatment, triggering an increase in the new infections from 38,000 in 2020 to 54,000 in 2021. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The prevalence of HIV infections in urban areas stands at 7.1 percent, higher than 5.2 percent in rural areas, according to latest statistics from the Health ministry.
The Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) has announced a partnership with an alliance of mayors to tackle HIV infection rates in urban areas than rural areas.
The prevalence of HIV infections in urban areas stands at 7.1 percent, higher than 5.2 percent in rural areas, according to latest statistics from the Health ministry.
Speaking during a media engagement in Kampala yesterday, Ms Joanita Kemigisha, the head of communications and advocacy at UAC, said they are partnering with Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders’ Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local Level (AMICAALL), to curb 54,000 new infections recorded annually in the country.
“Urban centres are leading when it comes to HIV prevalence. Their prevalence is higher than the national average [of 5.5 percent among adults aged between 15 and 49 years],” Ms Kemigisha said.
Dr Stephen Asiimwe, a medical doctor and a researcher at UAC, said the leading risk factors for HIV infections include having “multiple concurrent partners, transactional sex, unprotected sex, cross-generational sex, early sex and alcohol use, among others.
Dr Asiimwe also noted that women aged between 15 and 24 years have a higher HIV prevalence of 6.6 percent compared to the men at 3.8 percent. He also said sex workers, who are mostly based in urban areas, have the highest HIV/Aids prevalence rate of 31.3 percent, compared to the national average of 5.5 percent among adults.
At the same event, Ms Kagguma Nabwire, the acting country director of AMICAALL, said they are concerned about the declining awareness about HIV/Aids.
“To end HIV as a public health threat by 2030, we need to start with urban communities because we have elites that can influence others living in urban areas and the prevalence [of HIV] is also higher in urban areas,” she said.
“We need to raise awareness about HIV/Aids because many people are forgetting that it is dangerous. We need to renew efforts to fight stigma and discrimination against persons living with HIV/Aids,” she added.
Both Ms Kemigisha and Ms Nabwire urged the leaders to take advantage of the airtime media houses give the government to sensitise people about HIV/Aids.
“So, we feel that when we engage the media, our message will go farther and people will be able to hear, and we also know that most of the media houses in Uganda are situated in the urban areas,” Ms Kemigisha said.
