The 2011 Uganda Aids survey indicator shows an increase in the HIV/Aids prevalence amongst people between 15 to 49 years from 6.4 percent to 7.3 percent. The result based on a nationwide survey conducted in household also shows the HIV prevalence of 0.6 percent amongst children less than five years of age.
Dr. Christine Ondoa the Minister for Health says the new prevalence rate is an indicator that HIV/AIDS remains a huge challenge to the country.
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The survey that was conducted from February to September 2011 shows that HIV prevalence is higher among women at 8.3 percent compared to men at 6.1 percent. Four percent of young adults aged between 15- 24 are living with HIV.
It also noted that women in urban areas are more likely to be HIV positive than those in rural areas at 11 and 8 percent respectively. However, there is no urban rural difference in HIV infection among men which stands at 6.1%.
Regionally, the Central region has the highest prevalence rate of 10.6 percent compared to the Mid-Eastern region which is at 4.1 percent. Ministry of health attributes the new prevalence rates to multiple sexual relationships.
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The survey indentifies a continued need for scale up of evidence based prevention interventions. These include prevention of mother to child transmission services, safe medical male circumcision as well as increased treatment coverage for people living with HIV.
The Director General Health services Dr. Ruth Aceng also reveals that every year for the next three years, the ministry shall have an additional 100,000 people to receive anti-retroviral and hopefully curb new infections. Currently only 330,000 people are getting ARV’s out of the 600,000 who need it and each year there are 130,000 new infections.
The Centre for disease control Uganda country Director and the US government representative Dr. Tadesse Wuhib notes that the survey findings are a wakeup call for Ugandans. He says it’s time to refocus, re-examine and re-strategise especially on those most at risk populations.
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Dr. Wuhib emphasizes the need to scale up efforts in the elimination of mother to child transmission, increase anti retroviral treatment, target the 1.1 million safe and voluntary male circumcisions for the next two years and restructure the behavioral prevention portfolio to target interventions and reduce new infections.
Since 2004 the American government has invested 1.7 billion US Dollars for HIV/AIDS response in Uganda.
