Worry as more young girls get infested with HIV in Mbarara
The Uganda AIDS Commission has revealed that young girls between 16 to 28 years are increasingly getting HIV in Mbarara city and district with the prevalence rate standing at 8.4% and 14% respectively.
According to Dorcus Twinabeitu, the Mbarara city HIV focal person, as of march 2024, 31852 people were confirmed to be living with HIV in care in Mbarara City compared to 31764 recorded between October and December 2023.
Twinabeitu notes that girls of the age of 15 to 28 are the most infected and testing positive in the city attributing it to a number of factors that among others include uncontrolled alcohol use, low condom use, poverty and reluctance on ARVs uptake.
According to the Uganda AIDS Commission’s HIV prevention officer for Mbarara, Dr. Steven Asiimwe, Mbarara district tops the Ankole sub region in the HIV prevalence standing at 14.4% followed by Kiruhura at 9.5%, Bushenyi at 9.2% Mbarara city comes at 8.1% Ibanda at 7.3% Sheema at 7.5%, Ntungamo 5.9%, Rubirizi at 6.1%, Mitooma 4.1%, Buhweju at 3.8% and least is Isingiro at 3.0%”