Kayanja Ministries, Col. Musisi partner to fight HIV in Kalangala islands

KALANGALA - Kayanja Ministries has partnered with Lt. Col. Frank Musisi, a Ugandan US-based army officer, to fight and reduce HIV/Aids incidents in Kalangala district.

According to Pastor Robert Kayanja, the Senior Pastor of the Lubaga-based Miracle Centre Church, there is a growing concern that HIV prevalence is still high in the country because many Ugandans have let down their guards, which he said was a sign of betrayal.

He wondered why many Ugandans continue to get HIV infections despite the prevailing awareness.

Pastor Robert Kayanja and Lt. Col. Frank Musisi address the press at the Miracle Centre Church in Lubaga after the donation. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

Kayanja said the bicycles were in addition to several motorcycles and other financial support the Kayanja Ministries had extended to the organisation to help ease the work of the volunteers, who he said were playing a key role in reaching out to the vulnerable people living with the virus. 

“With the prevailing communication platforms and existing pharmacies everywhere, where people can easily access condoms, catching HIV during this age is a betrayal of your family and country," he said.

He appealed to Ugandans to revisit the original ABC (abstinence, be faithful and use condoms) formula and approach to defeat the 'silent assassin'. 

He was handing over a donation of 15 bicycles to Village Health Teams (VHTs) that work under the Ssese Islands African Aids Project (SIAAP), a non-governmental organisation founded by Lt. Col. Musisi, to facilitate their movements in delivering medicines and other support to HIV/Aids patients.

Kayanja commended the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Mutebi II, for championing the fight against Aids in Uganda and called upon other cultural institutions to emulate him.

SIAAP, with a medical facility at Bugoma Health Centre II in Mugoye Sub-County, works with over 17 VHTs to create awareness about prevention of HIV/AIDs, provide community-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS, scale up HIV counselling and testing and prevention of mother-to-child transmission. 

The organisation also helps to initiate and sustain social and economic rehabilitation services for families with people living with HIV/AIDS.

Kayanja said the bicycles were in addition to several motorcycles and other financial support the Kayanja Ministries had extended to the organisation to help ease the work of the volunteers, who he said were playing a key role in reaching out to the vulnerable people living with the virus. 

“We have already given motorcycles before, and we realised that these volunteers needed bicycles to reach these remote parts of the country. As Ugandans, there is something we can do, and then God will do what we cannot do. This we can do. Someone provides you with medicine, how can you say you cannot deliver it, when you have got people who can ride bicycles,” he stated, adding that medicine would be of no use if the people who need it do not get it because of transport issues.

The function took place at the Miracle Centre Cathedral in Lubaga, Kampala city, where Kayanja commended Musisi and his team for helping the country to educate people to stop spreading the disease.

He appealed to Ugandans to help organisations like SIAAP in their respective communities to eradicate HIV/Aids, which he said is still a big threat.

“There is enough information currently on social media, to catch HIV/Aids is being a traitor to your family, your generation and your people, why do you commit suicide, choosing to have a miserable death,” he stated and asked Churches and mosques to preach about the killer disease.

Kayanja commended the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Mutebi II, for championing the fight against Aids in Uganda and called upon other cultural institutions to emulate him.

“The Kabaka of Buganda is setting a good example by championing the fight against fistula and HIV/Aids, every year he keeps on reminding men and women to avoid catching the disease and asking them to help those who are positive,” he said and called on Churches and individuals to plant a seed through buying one more bicycle for the volunteers spread across the 84 habitable islands in Kalangala district.

“I appeal to Uganda, the churches, civil society organisations and everybody to rise and partner with such organisations like SIAAP, it is possible to eradicate HIV,” he said. 
Musisi said that VHTs use bicycles to ride to the various landing sites where there is a big concentration of HIV/Aids patients, some of whom are unable to walk or access the drug distribution points due to their vulnerability.

“This is not the first time that Pastor Kayanja is supporting us, he has been giving us a lot of money and motorcycles since 2010, we too will continue to extend services to those who need it using our personal funds,” he said and congratulated his teams for attaining 20 years since the organisation was set up. 

He appealed to the Government of Uganda to consider supporting the people living with HIV with food to boost their nutrition, saying many get weak along the way and cannot work to sustain themselves.

He said the organisation was also focusing on prevention by sending more teams to communities to educate them more about how they can avoid catching the disease. 

Bashir Mutyaba, a member of the board, said the volunteers use bicycles to transport the weak people to their health facility to pick up medicine and any other support and monitor their health.

He, however, said volunteers find challenges in monitoring patients who live among the fishing community, who keep migrating to various landing sites.

Kalangala ranked number three in national HIV prevalence standings

The 2025 national HIV report revealed that Kalangala comes third after Fort Portal City and Kyotera. The figures indicated that Fort Portal was leading with a prevalence of 14.3%, followed by Kyotera with 12.6%, Kalangala with 12.0% and Soroti City with 11.6%.

HIV prevalence in Mbarara City was at 9.9%, Gulu City at 9.6%, Lira City with 9.1%, Buikwe at 8.8% and Hoima City with 7.7%.

The national HIV prevalence dropped from 5.1% to 4.9%; however, in some cities, municipalities and places located around water bodies like Kalangala and along the transport corridors still registered high HIV Prevalence.