Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - October 1, 2004
War toll: HIV/Aids rates in northern Uganda are nearly twice as high as the rest of the country because of an 18-year war with the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, World Vision said on Monday.
"National prevalence rates for Uganda are estimated at 6,2% and declining, but rates in war-affected areas are almost double that of the national average, at 11,9%," according to the new report.
In Gulu district, epicentre of the rebellion, researchers found HIV/Aids was the leading cause of death at 69% of fatalities, three times higher than direct killings during military confrontation.
The agency said massive displacement, poverty, lack of health care, and high prevalence of rape all contributed to the number of infections.
It said the virtual collapse of health-care systems meant northerners could not access information about HIV/Aids, or take advantage of testing, counselling and treatment.
Uganda's government, which has won acclaim for reducing the HIV infection rate from about 30% in the early 1990s, could see many of those gains evaporate if the war is not brought to an end.
The LRA has kidnapped about 25 000 children to serve as fighters, porters and sex slaves who make up more than three-quarters of its ranks.
About half the girls abducted by the rebels are later found to carry the HI virus, doctors say.
It said any post-conflict plan must make special provisions for counselling and community reintegration efforts for girls who were victims of sexual bondage.
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