Uganda – Free to be me

Uganda has made considerable progress against the HIV epidemic in recent years. Of the estimated 1.5 million people living with HIV in Uganda in 2019, around 1.3 million were aware of their HIV status and 1.2 million were on treatment. More than 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV in Uganda receive antiretroviral therapy to keep them healthy and prevent transmission of the virus to their children. However, in Uganda LGBTQI+ community are less likely to have access to the HIV testing, treatment, prevention and care services that could keep them healthy and well, in part because of the stigma and discrimination they face in health-care settings and throughout society. It’s clear that to end the AIDS epidemic in Ugandan cities, there is a need to build a more inclusive society where everyone enjoys the right to health. Pride Initiative for Eastern Region Uganda (PIERU) works to end stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community and achieve the full respect of their universal human rights through our HIV/Aids projects in community. We are currently working on another HIV/Aids project to establish a drop-in centre where LGBTQI community in Busoga region in Uganda can access HIV/Aids information, counselling and free treatment to further reduce the spread, stigma and discrimination of HIV among LGBTQI community in Uganda. During this event, we shall be sharing our success stories with the audience and get feedback and also the factors that have hindered the fight against HIV among LGBTQI+ communities in Uganda and engage in discussions on finding solutions to these challenges.