According to UNAIDS the HIV prevalence in Uganda was 5.8% in 2019 and 1.5 million people were living with HIV. The same year 53,000 Ugandans were infected with HIV and 21,000 died from AIDS related illnesses.

As is the case elsewhere in the region women are most adversely affected – 7.1% of women and girls between 15 and 49 are living with HIV compared to 4.3% of men and boys.

• Uganda is a country in East Africa and home to 44.4 million people. Three quarters of the population live in rural Uganda and are mostly employed in agriculture – or fishing in areas close to Lake Victoria.
• 40% of the population live in poverty according to the World Bank. Almost half of the population is under 15 years of age and about 50% of Ugandans have never completed primary school.

Whereas Uganda has made some significant progress in the fight against HIV, the epidemic is not slowing down fast enough in some groups – and girls and young women as well as key populations continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic.

Among Ugandan sex workers, the HIV prevalence is 31.3% and in the group of men who have sex with men (MSM) 13.2% live with HIV according to UNAIDS (2017). It is, however, almost certain that there is a high degree of under reporting and that the real numbers are likely to be higher.

In Uganda AIDS-Fondet’s work is made possible by support from the Danish Civil Society in Development (CISU). The current programme includes two Ugandan organisations – with the first programme cycle running from 2019-2021 and the second from 2022-2025.