By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) has announced that a total of 4,700 babies in Uganda were born with HIV infection in 2024.
Dr. Vincent Bagambe, Director for Planning and Strategic Information at UAC says the babies acquired the infection from their mothers during birth. He noted that the number has reduced due to availability of treatment in health facilities to stop mother to child transmissions of HIV.
“The PMTC programs too have been effective, reducing the annual number of babies who acquired HIV from their mothers from 8,800 in 2017 to 4,700 in 2024,” Bagambe said.
According to UAC, there are about 1.49 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, of whom 92% know their positive HIV status and over 90% are on lifesaving ARVs.
The commission also noted a significant progress towards the reduction of HIV prevalence from 18% in 1990s to 5.1% in 2024.
“New infections have reduced too from 68,000 to 38,000, AIDS related deaths reduced from 30,000 to 20,000,” UAC reported.
The report, however, indicated that the prevalence remains high among vulnerable groups such as adolescent girls and young women, almost four times higher than in their male counterparts.
Of the 38,000 new infections, the report indicated, “22,000 occured among women especially adolescents and young women aged 15-24 years.”
Bagambe noted that Uganda is likely to meet its target of 1,800 new annual infections by 2025, but raised concerns about rising prevalence among sex workers, multiple partnerships, suboptimal condom use, sex based violence (SBV) all these potential to increase vulnerability to HIV.
In 2017, President Museveni launched the “The Presidential Fast-track Initiative on ending HIV&AIDS in Uganda by 2030.” During the launch, Museveni emphasized on engaging men in the fight against HIV because they are the main carriers of the virus. “Men should go for HIV testing to protect their partners; it’s important to know your status and disclose to your partner to prevent further spread of HIV” Museveni said.
UAC reported that PFTI has been effective in fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.
Canon Dr. Ruth Ssenyonyi, Chairperson UAC disclosed that the government spends too much money on treating HIV/AIDS, she urged the public especially the youth to stay healthy and guard themselves against the virus.
“Government and Partners spend close to UGX 700,000/= to maintain one person living with HIV on treatment for a year. This is a huge burden to the economy, yet these resources could be utilized to address other socioeconomic needs. Prevention is a big focus and is certainly better than cure,” said Dr. Ruth. “I implore you, especially the young people, to avoid risky situations that could expose you to acquiring HIV. If you are already HIV positive, always take and adhere to your medication as advised by the health workers.”
Uganda will hold the third National HIV/AIDS symposium on November 13, ahead of the World AIDS day due in December 1, at the office of president Conference Hall. The Symposium will be themed: “Accelerating Interventions to end HIV by 2030.” The minister for presidency Milly Babalanda is expected to grace the symposium as a Chief Guest.
