KAMPALA – Uganda’s new national HIV statistics have indicated a sharp 64% decline in new infections and a 66% drop in AIDS-related deaths since 2010, reflecting significant progress in the country’s response to the epidemic.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The development was unveiled by the Director of Planning and Strategic Information at the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), Dr. Vincent Bagambe, during a press briefing at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday.
Announcing the National HIV and AIDS Strategy (NHAS) 2026, Bagambe noted that Uganda has about 1,567,000 people living with HIV, including roughly 1,496,000 adults aged 15 and above and about 71,000 children aged 0–14, with women making up 66.3% of adults and men 33.7%.
Overall HIV prevalence stands at 5.9% among people aged 15 and above, and 5.5% among the 15–49 age group, 3.5% among men and 7.2% among women.
Among young people aged 15–24, prevalence is 1.5%, with 1.0% among boys and 2% among girls.Geographically, the highest prevalence is recorded in South Western Uganda (8.0%), South Buganda (7.3%), North Buganda (7.2%), and Mid North (6.8%), while Karamoja (1.3%) and West Nile (1.4%) have the lowest rates. Hotspots with prevalence above 8% include Fort Portal City at 16.7%, Kalangala at 12.1%, and Kabarole at 10.7%, according to program data.
Bagambe confirmed that new HIV infections have fallen by 64% since 2010 to 34,000 in 2025, with 87% occurring among adults and 13% among children. Key and priority populations account for 55–70% (20,300–25,900) of new infections.
He noted that high HIV prevalence remains among female sex workers (31%), fisherfolk (22–29%), truckers (25%), people who inject drugs (16%), and men who have sex with men (13%). Young people aged 15–24 account for 38% of new infections, with 77% of these being young women, a male-to-female ratio of approximately 1:4.
On a positive note, vertical (mother-to-child) infections dropped by 78% since 2010 to 4,400 in 2025, with a mother-to-child transmission rate of 2.18% at six weeks and 5.9% post-breastfeeding.
However, high new maternal infections continue to occur during breastfeeding and pregnancy (37% of vertical infections), along with ART drop-out during pregnancy and breastfeeding (46% of vertical infections).
AIDS-related deaths have dropped by 66% since 2010 to 19,000, 85% among adults and 15% among children, while the 95-95-95 cascade shows that 85.3% of adult PLHIV aged 15 and above know their status, 99.1% of whom are on ART and 96.5% of whom have achieved viral suppression.
Among adult men, 79.9% know their status, of whom 99.6% are on ART and 99.1% have achieved viral suppression, while among adult women, 86.6% know their status, of whom 98.9% are on ART and 95.4% have achieved viral suppression.
Among children living with HIV aged 0–14, 71% are diagnosed, of whom 93% are on ART and 88% have achieved viral suppression. The findings indicate that the HIV epidemic remains feminized, youthful, urban, and concentrated in key and priority population networks.
Meanwhile, the Director of Planning and Strategic Information at the UAC noted that there is a deteriorating trend in behavioral and structural indicators, including an increase in multiple sexual partnerships, suboptimal condom use at high-risk sex, and increasing sexual-based violence, all of which potentially increase vulnerability to HIV.
He added that despite HIV program financing shocks, diagnosis and treatment services have remained resilient, and people continue to access them. However, there has been stagnation in identifying PLHIV; once identified, they access treatment, which explains why Uganda has surpassed treatment and viral load suppression targets.
“Unless we urgently put more effort into significantly bending the curve of new HIV infections, there is a high risk that we may fail to hit the 2030 targets of 90% reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS-related mortality,” Bagambe warned.
Bagambe added that service gaps remain for children, particularly in achieving viral suppression, thus urging stakeholders to take urgent action towards reducing vertical transmission, retaining mothers on ART, and addressing high infection rates among young women.
He further warned that stubbornly high infection rates among young women and key populations, coupled with stagnation in identifying people living with HIV, pose a serious threat to achieving the 2030 targets of a 90% reduction in new infections and AIDS-related mortality.
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