HIV VICTIMS CRY OUT… “Labour export firms discriminating us”

**Middle east bound Ugandan migrants at Entebbe airport**

A section of people living with HIV have tasked MPs to rein over the practice of labour companies discriminating against HIV patients, saying the archaic practice has left many of them unemployed.

The sentiments were echoed by Salome Atim, a member of the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Networks Uganda while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS and Other Related Matters to discuss the HIV prevalence in Uganda.

Atim said there is need for sensitization around stigma HIV patients face, citing an example of one MP who asked why HIV Positive students should be allowed to study alongside students who are HIV Negative, saying education is a right, and no one should be denied education or a job because of their HIV status.

She said: “I think it is time Parliament asked those people who recruit and export people for jobs exclude people living with HIV because if a scrub saucepans and fry chapatti I don’t transmit HIV. But you deny those people a job because of their status. Many of us in our homes screen our helpers for HIV but we forget to screen a husband and brothers which is a problem.”

According to UNAIDS, Uganda has 1.4million people living with HIV and of these, 1.2million are on treatment and the prevalence stands at 6.8%.

Among young people aged 15-24 years, HIV prevalence is 2.8%. Estimates indicate that 53,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2021 and of these, 5,700 were children aged 0-14years and 48,000 adults aged 15 years and older.

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