Uganda: New HIV Infection Highest Among Teenagers – Health Minister
While speaking on behalf of Health minister Jane Aceng at the 8th annual National Paediatrics and Adolescents Conference in Kampala on Wednesday,
the Primary Healthcare minister Sarah Opendi, disclosed that the number of new HIV/AIDS infections among the youth is on a rise, and new modeled HIV infections estimates, about 9,276 of young people between 10 and 19 years are diagnosed with HIV every year; with another 3,487 new infections among children of 0 to 14 years, and The modelled statistics also show young adults of 15-24 years constitute the highest number of people living with HIV, standing at 188,636 of the 1.4 million people living with HIV in the country. Dr Denis Tindyebwa, the executive director for the Care of Children affected by HIV/Aids and chairman of the conference, says there are nearly 100,000 children estimated to be living HIV but only 60 per cent are getting treatment and the country needs to make sure that the reaming 40 per cent are treated by 2020. The previous round of Aids Indicator Surveys showed that HIV prevalence in the general population in Uganda increased from 6.4 per cent in 2004/5 to 7.3 per cent by 2011, tallying with the 2013 HIV estimates which show HIV prevalence stabilized around 7.4 per cent in 2012/2013.
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