A recently released report from the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) indicates that the HIV prevalence rate in Fort Portal City, Kabarole District, is the highest in the country at 17.8 percent, up from 14.6 percent in 2020. This is significantly above the national average of 5.1 percent.
These high numbers have been attributed to new infections, especially among adolescents and women. In six months (October 2023 to March 2024), health facilities within the city registered 529 new infections, 322 of which were women and girls.
At 26, Sandra Arinaitwe, a shop owner and resident of Kagote village, in Central Division, Fort Portal City, has no problem sleeping with older men, as long as they can give her money to maintain her standard of living.
“Sugar daddies have made it in life. They have assets and money, which can support young girls such as myself who do not have the money to navigate life’s challenges. He will give you money every time you ask for it, something that a man my age cannot do. Young men deceive girls that they will marry them, yet they have numerous girlfriends,” she says.
Sadly, though, Arinaitwe admits that in her experience, older men do not welcome the use of condoms.
“Even the few who accept to use condoms eventually take them off during the encounter. If your motive is to get money or job connections from this man, you cannot force him to wear a condom. Most older men want unprotected sex, anyway,” she explains.
Because of the transactional nature of the relationship and the fact that the older man is more likely than not to be married, Arinaitwe often returns to her on-and-off youthful boyfriends.
“If I accidentally contract HIV from a sugar daddy, I will spread it to my age mates,” she says with finality.
“Older men believe that when they give you money, they have a right to unprotected sex. Sometimes, we test before the first encounter, but subsequent meetings often lack testing. I know I belong to the key populations, so I take Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to protect myself,” Daphne Kemigisa, a 20-year-old woman supplements.
PrEP is medicine taken before a sexual encounter to prevent contracting HIV. If taken as prescribed, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99 percent.
HIV infections on the rise
Dr Solomon Asiimwe, the city’s health officer, attributes the surge in new infections to high teenage pregnancy rates.
“Currently, the teenage pregnancy rate for Fort Portal City stands at 22 percent. Teenage pregnancies have a direct impact on HIV numbers. However, we can also blame the reckless behaviour of having unprotected sex among both married and unmarried individuals who have multiple partners,” he says.
He adds that financial distress puts the youth at risk, leading them to engage in risky behaviour.
“Commercial sex work is rampant in Fort Portal. Some people do not disclose their HIV status and yet refuse to use condoms during sexual encounters…