Museveni records messages calling all to end AIDS by 2030

By Our Reporter

Every week, 1,000 people in Uganda get infected with HIV and 500
people die from AIDS. To address this scourge, and to reinvigorate
national HIV/AIDS prevention, Uganda AIDS Commission has for the past
two years been coordinating the Presidential Fast Track Initiative to
end AIDS by 2030. The Initiative was launched in 2017 by President
Yoweri Museveni to reinvigorate national HIV/AIDS prevention and
awareness efforts.

During the launch, the President expressed concern about the way
HIV/AIDS messaging and communication was being done saying that quite
often it confuses and misinforms the public. “Correct and consistent
messaging on preventing and managing HIV and AIDS should be at the
core of all our interventions,” said President Museveni. “We know that
the absence of a proper message negates all our interventions and will
hamper our efforts of ending AIDS significantly by 2030,” he added.

The president believes that with the right messages, broadcast to the
different audiences will greatly impact on the attitude of people
towards HIV/AIDS. It is against this background that he recorded a set
of public awareness messages to contribute to the ongoing efforts in
ensuring that the country meets the global target of ending AIDS as a
public health threat by 2030.  Today, these messages have been
launched.

They are covering a wide range of HIV/AIDS themes and will be aired on
several media platforms across the country.
 “I am calling upon all partners and media houses to embrace and
support the president’s campaign to change the way we communicate
about HIV/AIDS,” said Esther Mbayo, Minister for the Presidency. “The
campaign will go on for one year and will largely depend on everyone’s
support to ensure that we achieve our objective of ending AIDS by
2030,” she added.

Over the years, the Uganda HIV prevention response has registered
considerable progress. With support from our partners, Uganda has
succeeded in bringing down HIV prevalence from as high as 18% in the
general population during the 1990s to 6.2% in 2017.

During the last seven years, there have been significant improvements
in the reduction of new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related
causes.

Despite these achievements, challenges remain, including high levels
of new infections among adolescent girls and young women, and low
involvement of men in HIV programs. As a result, HIV remains a public
health threat with 1,000 people getting infected with HIV and 500
people dying every week.