Govt to give out free HIV testing kits

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The health ministry says it is going to start giving out free HIV testing kits to targeted population of over five million people.

The target population includes youth aged between 15 and 24 years, sex workers, bodaboda riders, fishing communities and long-distance truck drivers.

The programme officer of the AIDS Control Programme in the health ministry, Dr Christine Katusiime, says the kits will be available in all government health facilities.

According to her, the results are 100 per cent accurate and can be known within 15-20 minutes.

She has, however, advised the public to use the Village Health Teams for further guidance since they have been fully trained, especially in counseling before and after testing.

HIV prevalence

According to the World Health Organisation, the prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 64 in Uganda is 6.2%; 7.6% among females and 4.7% among males.

This corresponds to approximately 1.2 million people aged 15 to 64 living with HIV in Uganda. HIV prevalence is higher among women living in urban areas (9.8%) than those in rural areas (6.7%).