783 Kabale residents test positive for HIV 

A total of 783 people in Kabale District tested positive for HIV/AIDS in the financial year 2021/2022 according to the District Health Educator Alfred Besigensi.

Besigensi revealed this yesterday during a media engagement organized by Organization for Community Empowerment at Manhattan hotel in Central Division, Kabale municipality.

Organization for Community Empowerment is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that was founded in 2016 by a group of academics, social scientists, and other individuals to respond to the causes and effects of mass poverty, poor livelihoods, and diseases like HIV/AIDS. The organization is currently operating in Lyantonde, Ntungamo and Kabale districts.

Besigensi said that the 783 were confirmed from 50,754 tests which translated the positivity rate for Kabale district to 5 percent. He added that Kabale district currently has a total of 9,187 confirmed HIV/AIDS patients since 2000 when the district established HIV clinics.

“783 out of 50,754 people, who were tested for HIV/AIDS in the 2021/2022 FY, returned positive results, translating to a 1.5% HIV positivity rate,” Besigensi said.

He added that of the 9,187 patients, 8739 patients are on the first line of treatment, 429 on the second line whereas 19 are on the third line of treatment. He however said that out of the 9,187 patients, 7,944 have suppressed their viral loads due to proper adherence to drugs which is an indication that they have a low risk of transmitting the virus.

Besigensi also noted that HIV prevalence is high in key populations including commercial sex workers, long distance drivers and bodaboda cyclists among others.

The Organization for community Empowerment executive director Achilles Wasswa Kawooya said the organization is currently intending to mobilize commercial sex workers to ensure that they are sensitized to look for alternative sources of income as a strategy to curtail the HIV transmission among the communities.