Stakeholders and leaders in Fort Portal City have expressed concern over the rising number of HIV/Aids infections among women.
Despite the HIV/Aids prevalence rate remaining at 17 percent in Fort Portal City, there is an alarming trend of new infections being registered in women than in men.
The stakeholders stress that if this pattern is not addressed urgently, it could pose a significant burden on the city’s efforts to eradicate the scourge by 2030.
Evan Amara, the HIV/Aids focal person for Fort Portal City, said the current number of people living with HIV/Aids is 20,848, of which 12,924 are women (62 percent) and 7,922 are men (38 percent) as of December 2023.
Between October and December 2023, at least 237 new HIV/Aids cases were registered, of which 100 were male and 137 were female from 13 health facilities in the city.
During a meeting between officials from the Ministry of Health and leaders from Fort Portal City, the stakeholders blamed the trend on women’s vulnerability and exposure, which they said places them at a heightened risk of contracting infection.
Ms Moreen Kyobutungi, a sex worker and the executive director of the Kabarole Women Health Initiative, said the majority of sex workers in Fort Portal City are below the age of 18.
She blamed the influx of sex workers on poverty and domestic violence.
According to data from the Ministry of Health concerning sex workers in Fort Portal City, 45 percent of them are living with HIV/Aids.
