The new UNAIDS Country Director for Uganda, AmakobeSande, presented a new analysis of country data showing that there are nearly 227 new cases of HIV every day in the Uganda. Sande stressed that this burden is particularly felt by young girls and women. She urged government officials to enforce early and immediate treatment for any new HIV diagnosis, citing that the new analysis represents a looming crisis for the country if no new course of action is taken.
Sande urged stakeholders to ‘not relax’ due successes in recent uptakes in treatment access. She emphasized that much more effort must be made to curb the HIV epidemic. Uganda faces a unique set of challenges, especially in terms of criminalization of heavily affected key populations such as men who have sex with men and drug users. In addition to increasing access to HIV treatment, a human-rights focused response aimed at curbing strong social stigmas in the country is necessary if Uganda is to lessen its existing, and growing, HIV crisis.
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