Ugandan president to publicly test for HIV

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KAMPALA, Nov. 7 -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni are to publicly test for HIV in a bid to encourage the public to test for the disease whose prevalence rate is going up in the East African country.

State agency Uganda Aids Commission said in a statement issued here on Thursday that Museveni and his wife are leading by example in a bid to roll-back the HIV epidemic in the country.

"The objective of the public HIV counseling and testing is to demonstrate to all Ugandans the importance of knowing your HIV status as an action towards an HIV-free generation," the statement said.

During the function that will be held in the capital Kampala on Friday, Museveni will call upon parents, teachers, all political, religious, cultural, and community leaders as well as the media, to urge Ugandans to test for HIV and seek advice and care from a health facility.

Janet Museveni, who is championing the elimination of mother-to- child transmission of HIV campaign, will also use the occasion to urge all pregnant women to get tested for HIV.

Uganda was recognized as a leader in Africa's HIV response and was one of the first four developing countries in the world to provide people living with HIV with access to life-saving treatment. In recent years, however, the country's HIV prevalence rate has increased to 7.3 percent from 6.4 percent in 2005.

According to the 2011 National HIV Indicator Survey, the number of new infections rose from 124,000 in 2009 to 128,000 in 2010 and approximately 145,000 in 2011.

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