Civil Society Activists Want HIV Law Amended

By Serestino Tusingwire

As Uganda commemorates World Aids Day, Civil Society Organizations advocating for the rights of people living with HIV want government to amend the 2015 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act.

Clauses 41 and 43 of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act punish those who attempt to infect other persons with HIV with a penalty of 5 or 10years in prison.

According to Dorah Kiconco, the Director Uganda Network of law Ethics and HIV, UGANET says, the law is not fair to punish only one who is HIV positive leaving out that who is negative who did not take an initiative to know the status of his/her partner.

“That’s like creating a world of two, the positive and the negative. The negative should also take precautions to know the HIV status of the other, not relying on the Positive to disclose his/her status,” Kiconco said.

The activists say the contentious clauses increase stigma and harm to people living with HIV whose dignity will be compromised and therefore want it amended as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, according to the latest statistics, every day, about 5,600 people contract HIV worldwide, which is more than 230 every hour.