As the world prepares to commemorate the International Candlelight Memorial Day on May 16, 2025, Uganda spotlights a growing crisis, where adolescent girls and young women now account for nearly half of all new HIV infections in the country.
This year’s observance will take place under the theme “Ending AIDS by 2030: Building a Sustainable HIV Response.”
This year round, Uganda’s national event will feature a public walk led by Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda, beginning at Constitutional Square in the city centre, to the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) headquarters in Ntinda, a suburb of Kampala.
Free HIV testing services will also be available throughout the day at various public locations including Constitutional Square, Nakawa, and Ntinda markets.
The UAC Board Chairperson Canon Dr. Ruth Senyonyi addressed journalists in Kampala on April 29, 2025, emphasizing that while Uganda has made significant progress under the Global AIDS Strategy (2021–2026) aimed at eliminating the courage by 2030, the country still faces a major public health challenge.
“Almost half of new infections are adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24,” Senyonyi stated.
“We therefore need to re-energize our efforts to reach young people, their peers, and parents with HIV prevention messages since a lot of complacency has set in as evidenced by the increasing HIV infections among this group. Six people are infected with HIV every hour in Uganda. We need to protect this vulnerable population,” she noted.
She added that key priorities for Uganda’s response include addressing HIV stigma and discrimination, sustaining treatment programs, ensuring consistent funding, and leveraging media to spread accurate, stigma-free information.
“Our request is that HIV stigma and discrimination is addressed at family, community and country level in order to create a stigma-free environment for people living with HIV,” Senyonyi urged.
Though foreign aid for HIV has declined in recent years, she said the UAC is crafting a sustainability roadmap to ensure domestic funding becomes the primary driver of HIV response initiatives.
“It costs the government close to UGX 700,000 to treat one person living with HIV,” Senyonyi explained. “We have enough stock of ARVs required to treat people living with HIV without any disruptions. Persons living with HIV are advised to continue accessing these services as before.”
Highlighting past achievements, Senyonyi acknowledged Uganda’s progress in reducing the national HIV prevalence from 18% in the 1980s to 5.1% today, and noted that out of 1.49 million people living with HIV, over 1.2 million are currently on treatment.
She also credited the media’s role in HIV awareness, particularly in the early days when misinformation and stigma were rampant.
“If we look back in history, there was no known treatment. AIDS was considered a mysterious disease. People ascribed it to witchcraft and bad luck,” she said. “The stigma and discrimination from close family members and communities was killing people more than the disease itself.”
The Commission paid tribute to Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for his leadership, along with development partners and health workers who have championed HIV prevention and care over the decades.
Special recognition was also given to public figures such as the late Philly Bongole Lutaaya and journalist Dr. Elvis Basudde among others, who openly shared their HIV status to combat stigma.
Looking ahead, the UAC says HIV care has now been integrated with tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, hypertension and diabetes care for sustainability and continuity amidst the prevailing funding gaps.
She also reassured people on antiretrovirals (ARVs) that treatment would continue without disruption.
“This will also help to minimize duplication and enhance efficiency and effectiveness. We have enough stock of ARVs required to treat people living with HIV without any disruptions. Persons living with HIV are advised to continue accessing these services as before,” she added.
Senyonyi closed her remarks with a call to action: “Ending AIDS as a public health threat begins with each one of us. Know your status, start treatment if positive, and adhere to your medication. For those who are HIV-negative, protect yourselves and others.”
Jacqueline Makokha, the UNAIDS country director, emphasized that the commemoration is a time for reflection on the progress and lessons learned in the past years as a country.
Makokha pointed out that Uganda has made significant progress in controlling the epidemic, with a noticeable drop in HIV prevalence and a decline in new infections, though not as rapid as desired, saying that more needs to be done to eliminate the scourge.
Dr. Vincent Bagambe, said the event supports awareness not only around HIV but general health, by involving participants in a physically active demonstration of support.
