Uganda sees fall in new HIV infections

The number of Ugandans who got infected with HIV dropped sharply to 52,000 in 2016 from 99,000 in 2014, presenting hope that the fight against the scourge.

The decline in new HIV infections is highlighted in partial findings of the Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment survey, which also puts prevalence rate for HIV at 6%, up from 7.3% in 2014.

Dr Nelson Musoba, the acting director general of the Uganda Aids Commission said Uganda was on course to achieve the 90-90-90 HIV global goal.

The goal seeks to ensure that by the year 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV know their status, 90% of those diagnosed HIV are on ART therapy and 90% of all people on ART therapy have viral suppression.

The UNAIDS country director, Dr Karusa Kiragu-Gikonyo yesterday described the survey findings as a reflection of good progress in the fight against HIV but said a lot more was required to tame the scourge.

On December 1, Uganda will join the rest of the world to commemorate World AIDS Day, marked every year globally since 1988 to raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV.

According to the World AIDS Report 2017, about 36.7 million people globally are living with HIV and 20.9 million of them are on treatment.

In 2016, 1.8 million contracted HIV and the infection caused one million deaths. Since it was uncovered, 76 million people have been infected and about half (35 million have died from it).

In Uganda, about 1.6 million people are living with HIV and an estimated one million people were on treatment by June, with 300,000 enrolled over the past year, according to the Uganda AIDS Commission.

On Tuesday, the minister for the Presidency, Esther Mbayo yesterday said this year's World AIDS Day celebrations would focus on encouraging men to be champions in the fight against HIV.

HIV still ravages more women compared to men, with statistics showing that every four minutes, three girls get infected with HIV across the globe.