By Mary Karugaba
and Milton Olupot

THE HIV Prevention and Control Bill was yesterday presented to Parliament with measures to curb the spread of the disease.

It was drafted by the parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS and tabled by MP Beatrice Rwakimari.

During consultative meetings on the draft, several individuals and civil society organisations protested some of the clauses and demanded that they be deleted.

Human rights activists argued that the clause would increase discrimination against people living with HIV and dampen the efforts Uganda has taken to fight the scourge.

However, the Bill also fights discrimination, against both the employed and students.

Highlights of the Bill:

10 years imprisonment or sh4.8m fine for willful HIV transmission.

No crime for voluntary sex with an infected person.

10 years imprisonment for health workers who unlawfully disclose information about one’s HIV status.

Five-year jail term for attempted HIV transmission.

Mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women and their partners, as well as perpetrators and victims of sexual offences, prostitutes and drug users.

No denial of employment for HIV-positive persons.

No discrimination of HIV-positive students.

HIV/AIDS infected person has a right to seek an elective or other public office.

On HIV testing, the Bill states, pre-test and post-test counselling should be provided.

The Bill also provides for state responsibility and sets terms and conditions for HIV/AIDS related biomedical research. Such trials should not endanger the health of the participants and should be done with their written consent.

HIV Bill tabled in Parliament