Uganda: Loacls Fear Testing for HIV, Says Jinja Official

Posted to the web 19 August 2008 Esther Mukyala Kampala ONLY 12% of Ugandans have tested for HIV, according to the Aids Information Centre (AIC). The Jinja branch manager, James Okweny, noted that many people fear knowing their sero status. He said the rate at which the AIDS virus was being spread was high because people were scared of going for voluntary counseling and testing. "Current statistics show that only 12% of the population of Uganda has tested for HIV/AIDS. This is a very miserable figure yet quite a big number of the population is infected," he said. According to recent statistics, Uganda's population is 28 million. Okweny revealed that HIV counselling and testing services were free for the youth below 24. He made the remarks on Thursday while addressing a meeting at the district council hall. The theme of the... [read full story]