Dr Watiti sworn in as Uganda AIDS Commission board member

Dr. Stephen Watiti has been sworn in as a member of the 10th board of Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC).

This was during the swearing-in ceremony at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Friday, July 13.

“I’m honoured to have been picked by His Excellency the President to serve with others under the chairmanship of my old friend and sister, Dr. Ruth Ssenyonyi, to end AIDS by 2030,” he posted on his X handle after the function.

The Ugandan government is optimistic that it can end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 by achieving the “95-95-95” target.

The “95-95-95” target means that 95% of the people who are living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of the people who know that they are living with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people who are on treatment being virally suppressed.

According to Dr Nelson Musoba, the executive director of the UAC, there were 1.4 million people living with HIV in the country as of December 2022. Out of the 1.4 million people, 860, 000 were women and 80, 000 children.

Dr. Watiti, a married man, was born in Mbale district and has been working as a doctor since 1984. 

He says he has been living with HIV for over 25 years and does not know how he contracted the virus but it is not a question he wants an answer any more to. 

His focus is on helping others.

He started HIV treatment in 2000, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

However, due to the affordability and accessibility of the antiretroviral medicines in his regimen at that time, his adherence was poor, and he fell sick due to treatment failure.

UNAIDS reported that in 2003, with a new antiretroviral regimen, and the unwavering support of a counsellor from the AIDS Support Organization in Uganda, Watiti realised he was “no longer dying.”

During this period, he realized the need for him to educate and inspire his patients living with HIV. And so, he returned to work.