By Tusiime Phiona

I joined the World AIDs day celebrations in Kalungu Masaka. After the anthems and prayers, a counselor from Uganda Cares who sensitized us on how we could prevent ourselves from acquiring HIV. She also spoke to us about interventions when exposed to HIV for example PeP and PREP. Miss Nalujja Cathy also spoke about positive living where she advised disclosure and adherence to ART.

While speaking at the event, the District Health Officer said about 1500 girls in Kalungu were raped during the lockdown resulting into unwanted pregnancies.

Speaking about Kalangala, the District Health Officer-DHO said the cases of people acquiring HIV in the area has risen by 18% because it is mostly a fishing community and not everyone is given PREP or PEP apart from key populations, urging the government to be more inclusive if we are to win the fight against the HIV scourge.

I was near a certain group of people and when the DHO spoke about Key Populations a man from the back ground said “ebisirani ebyo” loosely translated as people who have bad luck or misfortune. I felt very bad because due to lack of knowledge the people I live with thought of me as an outcast just because of who I am.

A TASO representative got up and talked about the services that they provide to fight HIV which include HIV counselling and testing, psychosocial support and empowering clients with skills. The representative urged the gathering to take up these services.