BY XAVIER LINUS KULE
Leaders in Kasese district have been called upon to strengthen their sensitization campaigns towards the fight against the spread of HIV from communities.
The 2024 estimates show that the national HIV prevalence is 5.1%, with new infections reducing from 83,000 in 2021 to 38,000, AIDS related deaths have also reduced from 53,000 to 19,000 and babies with HIV have reduced from 30,000 to 4,700 in a period of over a decade.
Speaking to our reporter shortly after an engagement meeting that was organized by the Ministry of Health and Most at Risk Population Initiatives (MARPI), Mr. Tien Tsongo, the Kasese Assistant RDC observed need for the leaders and other stakeholders across the district to join the development partners in amplifying the campaign of ending the spread of HIV from the country.
The meeting was held at the District Health Boardroom in Rukooki.
Mr. Tsongo explained that the involvement of the leaders and other stakeholders in the fight against HIV would be in fulfillment of the government’s mission of eliminating the infection from the country by 2030.
He also appealed to the young girls to desist from engaging themselves in activities related to commercial sex, advising them to instead embrace government programs so that they become economically empowered.
Mr. Rabson Mupango, the Kasese Municipality Deputy Mayor, warned bar and lodge owners against the practice of employing young girls as sex workers, something he said contributes to the prevalence of HIV in the country. He said the authorities in the urban centre would soon apprehend proprietors of bars and lodges that would be cited having employed juveniles.
ENDS