Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - December 20, 2003
Eddie Ssejjoba
Around 40% of married men engage in extra-marital sex and only 12% persistently using condoms.
The was survey conducted by the Uganda Aids Commission in conjunction with the Uganda HIV/AIDS control project.
The Rakai district health educator, Joseph Ssembatya, said 80% of people who test positive for HIV continue having sex and look healthy, but only half of them use condoms with either their usual partners or outside. This implies that they either continue re-infecting their spouses or infect new partners, he said.
The Rakai director of medical services, Dr Robert Mayanja, said the survey was carried out on people's behaviour and trends in HIV/AIDS.
"Couples were asked such questions such as whether they had gone out with any one. And 50% of the men said yes. Between 15% and 20% of the women also said yes," Dr Mayanja said.
He said the results were presented to the Rakai district leadership last week.
The results were also presented and discussed at a regional workshop held in Masaka town two weeks ago. Ssembatya said the researchers included an American consultant.
The team told the district leaders that at least 20% of residents, especially in Kyotera county, still believe mosquitoes can transmit HIV/AIDS, whereas 10% believe witchcraft was the major cause of AIDS.
Ten percent in Kakuuto county believe that sharing a pit-latrine or a flush toilet with a person with HIV can transmit the virus to another, while 10% in Kabula county also believe touching a victim can transmit the disease.
Researchers said 80% respondents believe that they are at risk of getting HIV/AIDS, which implies that they either continue having reckless sexual affairs without using condoms, or that they are not faithful to their partners.
"Many are not confident that they can escape the disease because they do not trust themselves or continue to live a reckless sexual life," Ssembatya said.
The findings showed that men were more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than women.
But when it comes to notification of STD infection to a partner, almost none of them reveal this information to the other.
"Once a partner discovers that they have an STD, they just rush to a doctor for treatment and do not inform the other for fear of being blamed for the infection. This brings another gap in prevention," Ssembatya said.
So many pregnant women do not seek ante-natal services and only 23% of them deliver in health centres.
"This is also bad because there is a high risk of transmitting the virus to their new-born babies because they do not deliver in health facilities where such can be prevented," Ssembatya said. He said the AIDs infection rate still stood at between 12 to 15%.
As a result of these findings, district leaders have embarked on a massive campaign to warn the residents again about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
The LC5 chairman, Vincent Ssemakula, said they had come up with an AIDS slogan, ABCD, where A stands for Abstinence, B for Be faithful, C for use of condoms persistently and D for death for those who refuse to heed the message.
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