8 November 2018

In Uganda, about 1.5 million people are living with HIV, but data analysis shows new infections are on the rise among women. In 2015, it was estimated that 567 young people (15-24 years) get infected with HIV every week and of these, 363 were young women. A 2016 report shows that 570 young women (15-24 years) got infected with HIV every week in Uganda. 

A 20-year study by the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the Medical Research Council in Kyamulibwa, Kalungu district showed that Ugandan women with HIV who are not on treatment die faster than their male counterparts. According to the 2017 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) country factsheet, there are are 750,000 women aged 15 and above living with HIV, whereas men of the same age group are 440,000. Several factors are known to put women and adolescent girls at a higher risk of contracting HIV Commission which can be categorized into behavioral, biological and societal/structural. For example, harmful socio-cultural norms are still a big contributing factor in the spread of HIV among women and girls in this country.

Read the full article online here.