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Uganda records sharp decline in newborn HIV infections

Xinhua, November 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Newborn HIV infections in Uganda have fallen by 85 percent in the last five years, a report has said.

The report by the Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) on Thursday, a government department charged with fighting the scourge, showed that the infection figures fell to 3,500 babies in 2015 from 28,000 babies.

Christine Ondoa, the Director General of UAC, said that the decline is attributed to political commitments.

First Lady Janet Museveni spearheaded the nationwide campaign for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT).

"The success that the country is registering is a clear example of some of the immediate approaches that we need to sustain in order to reach the 2030 global targets of ending AIDS," said Ondoa.

"We need to continue re-engaging leadership for the response at all levels starting with everyone taking individual responsibility for their actions," she added.

Ondoa said prevention is key to ending the HIV epidemic in the East African country.

The number of new HIV infections in Uganda has dropped from about 140,000 in 2011 to 83,000 by December 2015, according to UAC statistics.

Ondoa said the number of persons on Antiretroviral Treatment has increased from 329,000 in 2011 to 874,000 by June 2016 and the persons dying from AIDS reduced from 63,000 in 2011 to 28,000.

Uganda will on Dec. 1 join the rest of the world to commemorate the World AIDS Day under the theme, "Joining hands to scale up HIV prevention."

Uganda's HIV prevalence rate stands at 7.3 percent, according to the 2011 AIDS Indicator Survey. Endit