Continue to be Mean with Your ‘Sumbs’, MoH Report Highlights Low Spread of HIV
By: Kyeyune Ali
Today at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, the ministry of health has revealed a report about the HIV/AIDs status of Ugandans.
The report of the 2020 Uganda population – based HIV impact assessment (UPHIA) indicated that the current prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15-49 years in Uganda is at 5.5 percent which show a reduction in the spread of the disease compared to the previous reports.
The UPHIA 2020 was a nation wide survey that was conducted to provide estimates of HIV incidences in the country.
The survey was conducted between February 2020 and February of 2021 though it got some challenges due COVID-19 mitigation measures.
The survey collected data about the uptake of HIV prevention , Care and treatment services and offered home – based HIV counseling and testing.
Among the adults of reproductive age 15 to 49 years was 5.5 percent but 7.1 percent among the women and 3.8 percent among the men reflecting a slight decrease from 6.0 percent in UPHIA 2016 – 17.
In the year 2016 to 2017, 7.5 percent among women and 4.3 percent among men., in the entire survey sample of adults in 2020 HIV prevalence was 5.8 percent.
The survey reported continued higher HIV prevalence in Young women than in Young men , The prevalence among young people aged 15 – 24 years was 1.8 percent. in this age group, the prevalence was three times higher among women at 2.9 percent compared to men at 0.8 percent.
The updated joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) targets that by 2025, 95 percent of those living with HIV to know there status and 95 percent of those who know their status to be on treatment and 95 percent of those on treatment to be virally suppressed.
Male circumcision is one of the strategies for HIV prevention in Uganda. The proportion of men aged 15 to 49 years that reported being circumcised increased from 42.5 percent in 2016 to 57.5 percent in 2020 . UPHIA found out that the prevalence of Male circumcision was highest among young people aged 15 to 24 years at 63 percent.
However, 20% of people living with HIV don’t know their status.
It was found out that Greater Masaka, Kampala, Wakiso has the highest number of Infected people.