KAMPALA – A report by the Uganda Aids Commission indicates that the number of Ugandans using condoms has dropped from 38 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2018.
The commission also says that only 9 percent of men aged 40 to 49 years used a condom when they engaged in extramarital sex in 2018.
Dr Daniel Byamukama, the head of Prevention at the Uganda Aids Commission, says that while the general prevalence of men aged 40 to 49 is 14 percent, prevalence among men in this age bracket who engage in extramarital affairs is highest at 25 percent.
He said this should worry the country as its undoing previous awareness done by activists like Lutaaya and other interventions geared towards prevention of HIV which is highest among men of that age group who are believed to be giving young girls the virus.
Dr Byamukama revealed this as Uganda marked Philly Bongoley Lutaaya day on Thursday. Lutaaya is remembered for being the first prominent Ugandan, a celebrated musician to give a human face to HIV/AIDS in Uganda at the time when there was a lot of stigma for a disease hitherto cushioned in myths.
The Uganda Aids Commission has appealed to Ugandans to maintain the use of condoms because it is an effective tool of preventing HIV.
