Govt to hold awareness walk to boost fight against AIDS

KAMPALA - As part of efforts to end AIDS by 2030, the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) will hold a national awareness walk on May 16, 2025, in Kampala to commemorate International Candlelight Memorial Day.

The event, themed “Ending AIDS by 2030: Building a Sustainable HIV Response”, aims to honour lives lost to AIDS and revitalise national efforts against the epidemic.

The walk will be led by the Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda and will start at City Square and end at the UAC offices, where the main event will take place.

Canon Dr Ruth Senyonyi, the UAC board chairperson, urged all Ugandans to participate and also take advantage of free HIV testing at Constitutional Square, Nakawa, and Ntinda Markets.

Uganda has significantly reduced HIV prevalence from 18 percent in the 1980s to 5.1 percent today.

“We now have rapid HIV testing kits, medicines to prevent exposed HIV-negative people from acquiring HIV, we have medicines that treat those with HIV and suppress the HIV virus (ARVs),” said Senyonyi.

Of the 1.49 million Ugandans living with HIV, over 1.2 million are receiving treatment.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday (April 29), Senyonyi emphasized that while progress has been made, the burden of HIV and AIDS remains unacceptably high and that women and girls are shouldering a higher HIV burden compared to the male population.

She said almost half of the new infections are adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24.

Senyonyi stressed that there is a need to re-energise efforts to reach young people, their peers and parents, with HIV prevention messages since complacency has set in as evidenced by the increasing HIV infections among the said group.

“Six people are infected with HIV every hour in Uganda. We need to protect this vulnerable population."

Stigma and discrimination continue to hinder testing and treatment adherence.
“Our request is that HIV stigma and discrimination is addressed at family, community and country level in order to create a stigma-free environment for people living with HIV," said the UAC chair.

Funding remains a concern, with much of Uganda’s HIV response reliant on external donors. The recent cuts in foreign aid have impacted prevention and testing efforts.

“It costs the government close to sh700,000 to treat one person living with HIV,” said Senyonyi, stressing the need to develop a sustainability roadmap, which will ensure “that we take actions to enable us fund the majority of our HIV response”.

To maintain continuity of services, she said HIV care has been integrated with TB, Hepatitis B, hypertension, and diabetes care.

She reassured Ugandans about antiretrovirals, saying that treatment will continue without disruption.

“We have enough stock of ARVs required to treat people living with HIV without any disruptions. Persons living with HIV are advised to continue accessing these services as before."

Ugandans have been urged to know their HIV status and start treatment immediately if positive and those already on treatment to take their medicines consistently and on time.

'Downward trend'

Dr. Vincent Bagambe, speaking on behalf of the UAC Director General, highlighted that this commemoration is one of the longest-standing events in the history of the fight against HIV and AIDS, saying it serves as a vital reminder that “HIV is still with us,”.

He said it also offers a platform to encourage individuals to adopt effective prevention strategies and protect themselves from infection.

He said the walk promotes not only HIV awareness but also overall health and well-being, as participants engage in a physically active way to support the cause.

The UNAIDS Country Director, Jacqueline Makokha, said that as Uganda and the world honour those who have lost their lives to the HIV epidemic, an ongoing battle for over 40 years, this commemoration also offers an opportunity for reflection.

She emphasized the importance of recognizing both the achievements and the lessons learned in the HIV response, and called for a renewed commitment to ending HIV as a global health threat.

“Uganda has made remarkable achievements in controlling the HIV epidemic," said Makokha.

"HIV prevalence has declined substantially over the years, the number of new infections is reducing, not as fast as we would want it to reduce but it is on a downward trend and a lot of people with HIV know their status and they are on treatment. For me, one of the biggest achievements is that the majority of our population is HIV negative."