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HIV/AIDS Rates Stop Dropping
By Charles Wendo
AFTER falling steadily for over a decade, Uganda’s HIV prevalence has levelled.
The health ministry’s newly released HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report puts at 6.2%, the HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal clinics from January to December 2002. The prevalence was 6.5% in 2001 and 6.5% in 2000.
At the peak in 1992, the worst-hit urban centre, Mbarara, had an HIV prevalence of 30% but this has reduced to 10.8% while the lowest now is Nebbi with 1.3%. Overall, the HIV prevalence in major urban centres declined from an average rate of 29.4% in 1993 to 8.3% today.
In the general population, considering males and females, the report estimates that 4.8% of adult Ugandans have HIV, which is close to the 5% estimated by UNAIDS last year.
Among patients of sexually transmitted diseases tested at Mulago Hospital, the prevalence declined from 23.7% in 2001 to 19.0 in 2002. In 1999 it was 44.2%.
In Kyamulibwa, Masaka District where doctors have been monitoring HIV trends, the prevalence among adults
was 5.0% compared to 5.4% the previous year.
The lead author of the report, Dr. Joshua Musinguzi of the AIDS Control Programme, said the stabilisation was expected.
He, however, said the new twist was a reminder that AIDS is still a reality and all Ugandans need to be on their guard.
“We saw in the late 1990s a rapid decline but from 2001 we are having a stabilisation.
“When an epidemic contracts, you reach a point when you are not likely to move much lower,” he said.
The report estimates that 73,830 Ugandans died of AIDS last year while a similar number, 70,170, became newly infected during the same period.
Published on: Sunday, 21st March, 2004
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