Uganda has registered some success in the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to the Uganda Aids Commission (UAC), the lead agency in the fight against the disease in the country.
In 2011, there were 140,000 HIV Infections, which had dropped to 100,000 by 2017, said Dr. Eddie Mukooyo Sefuluya, Chairman of UAC.
The official was briefing the media on June 18 in Kampala on the Presidential Fast Track Initiative to End AIDS as a Public Health threat in Uganda by 2030. The initiative was launched by president Museveni in June 2017.
However the Director General of UAC Dr Nelson Musoba said there has been an increase in the HIV/AIDS prevalence among the youth aged 15-25 years and men aged 35-49 years.
According to Dr Musoba, Uganda has about 1.3 million AIDS patients, whereas an estimated 20,000 have died of AIDS-related illnesses as of 2017. The estimated prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 stands at 6.5 percent.
In April this year, the US government announced US$ 408 million budget support to Uganda’s HIV prevention and treatment effort. The financial assistance came through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).The money will be used to focus on building the country’s capacity to achieve an AIDS-free generation.
PEPFAR funding is supporting Uganda’s efforts to end AIDS by 2030. The first step in this is achieving epidemic control via UNAID’s “90-90-90” goals, which state that by the year 2020, 90 percent of all people living with HIV will know their status, 90 percent diagnosed with HIV will be on antiretroviral therapy, and 90 percent of people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.