By Alice Lubwama
The Uganda aids commission calls for more HIV/AIDS sensitization campaigns for communities in areas where government is implementing large multi-million infrastructure projects to help in prevention of new HIV Infections.
speaking at the release of the report on financing HIV/AIDS and gender based violence in infrastructure projects in Uganda,the director general of Uganda AIDS commission Dr Nelson Musoba said that HIV prevalence rate is high among young women in areas where the infrastructure projects are taking place because they have low bargaining power to protect them selves since the men who go their to work have money to buy out sex.
"So you have men coming with power and money and you have women here dis empowered with no money, that's why you see rape and GBV taking place and the chances of transmitting HIV is high because of these imbalances." Musoba said
According to the ministry of health the average national prevalence of HIV rate is 6.2% but for women is 7.6% and men is 4.7%.
Musoba however note that the HIV prevalence rate is higher among men between the age of 45 to 49 years because they are the ones with money and having sex with young girls. He noted that 30% of the new HIV infections are among the young girls between the age of 15 to 25 because they are having sex with rich men who are having multiple sex.
Its the reason why the Uganda aids commission carried out a study to find out how HIV/AIDs and gender based violence interventions were being implemented under the large infrastructure projects.
The report on financing HIV/AIDS and gender based violence in infrastructure projects in Uganda shows that specific strategies for implementation of the HIV/AIDs and gender based violence interventions in the infrastructural projects was lacking .
The study indicate that apart from Uganda national roads authority which had evidence of funds allocated to HIV and gender based violence interventions , other implementing partners of the projects had no data to prove implementation.
In 2008 , government launched the HIV/AIDS main streaming project and guidelines to guide both public and private projects but the director general of Uganda AIDS commission Dr Nelson Musoba says that a lot has to be done to realize the implementation.
Launching the report the the acting UN resident coordinator Alain Sibenaler said that the findings will inform improvements in planning and budgeting for HIV and GBV programming with in the infrastructure projects which will leverage additional funding for the HIV response to support reduction and stabilize prevalence.