UGANDA: Rights Group Leery of Uganda AIDS Test Law

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

UGANDA: Rights Group Leery of Uganda AIDS Test Law

United Press International (11.06.09) - Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Uganda risks undoing a decade of progress against AIDS if its government passes a new HIV testing bill under consideration, Human Rights Watch said Friday. HRW said the measure would mandate HIV testing but would not protect against discrimination or preserve patients' confidentiality. Though the testing provision targets criminal suspects in particular, HRW said it would be perceived as coercive and give Ugandans doubts about taking part. While the bill calls for test results to be confidential, HRW said loopholes could expose HIV patients to discrimination and violence at the hands of sexual partners. "These provisions will ultimately prove counter-productive to reducing the burden of the HIV epidemic in the country," HRW said.
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