KAMPALA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Uganda will ensure that everyone in the country has equitable access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care after the president signed an anti-homosexuality bill into law, Minister of Health Ruth Aceng said.
Aceng made the comment late on Monday following concerns by global organizations that the new law may have negatively impact on access to HIV/AIDS services.
"Uganda will ensure that prevention programs for HIV Epidemic control remain accessible to those that need them in a non discriminatory manner observing principles of confidentiality and equity," Aceng tweeted.
"Our previous efforts brought down new HIV infections from 100,000 in 2015 to 17,000 in 2022. Similarly HIV prevalence has declined from 18 percent to 5.5 percent now," the minister said, noting that with 1.3 million people on treatment out of the estimated 1.43 million people living with HIV, the country is on course to HIV epidemic control.
Aceng said despite concerns by the global organizations, Uganda remains committed to ending AIDS as a public health challenge by 2030.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed the contentious anti-homosexuality bill into law, the Speaker of Parliament said here Monday.
Museveni assented to the bill that imposes death and life-imprisonment sentences for certain same-sex acts, up to 20 years in jail for promotion and funding of same-sex activities and according to it, a suspect convicted of attempted aggravated homosexuality faces 14 years in prison. ■