KISORO – The indigenous Batwa community in the southwestern districts of Rubanda and Kisoro is facing a staggering 75% HIV prevalence rate, even as the country continues its fight against the disease, with fisherfolk often at the center of national attention.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The findings were unveiled during a seven-day HIV prevalence study sponsored by the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), titled “Beyond the Pill: The Unseen Barriers to HIV Treatment Adherence Among Fisherfolk in Western Uganda.”
According to the Kigezi Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living with HIV/AIDS (KADOLHA), three-quarters of the Batwa population in the two districts is currently living with HIV, including nine Batwa children, three of whom are still on PCR treatment.
Reports indicate that in the year 2026 alone, HIV-related deaths have claimed four Batwa lives, a tragedy attributed largely to poverty, lack of food, and poor drug adherence.
Charity Zuena, a breastfeeding peer leader among HIV patients in the Batwa community of Kibungo Cell, Muko Sub County, contracted the virus after noticing stomach pains and headaches, and has been on ARVs alongside her infected husband, Miyingo Kenneth, for about two years.
However, she says the biggest barriers to staying healthy are not the pills but the circumstances, with the most pressing challenges being lack of suitable food diets, limited disease information, and poverty levels in families.
“The most challenges we face include lack of suitable food diets, lack of more disease information, and poverty levels in families,” Zuena noted.
Baseme Phionah, a Mutwa mother from Karengyere Village, discovered her HIV status while seeking treatment for another illness and now proudly breastfeeds an HIV-free baby.
She confirmed her regular visits to the hospitals to receive her ARVs and medication for her child, and urged the government to continue supporting the community and dispatching medicine to health units.
SOT: ZUENA & PHIONAH ON HIV
Gad Semajeri, Executive Director of the Batwa Development Organization and an HIV patient himself, explains that the community’s eviction from the forests without a formulated relocation plan left the Batwa vulnerable.
He notes that famine and fear have driven transactional sex, with poverty pushing many to offer cheap sex to earn a living after the Batwa were resettled among unfamiliar communities where refusal could mean being killed.
“Since the Batwa were evicted from staying and eating from the forests without a formulated relocation plan by the government to the open communities, they joined a new community that they were not familiar with, and people started making sex with Batwa due to the famine and fear of being killed of Hunger,” Gad explained.
SOT: GAD ON EVICTION & DISTANCE
Misaviman Adrine, an Enrolled Nurse and HIV Focal Person at Kisoro Hospital, says the facility handles over 2,000 clients, including locals, Batwa, and refugees from the DRC, while offering HIV preventative services and ARV treatment with strict confidentiality.
However, she notes that some clients give themselves holidays from medication, leading to high viral loads during monitoring, and tracking them remains a challenge as they come from far or have no phones.
“We offer HIV preventative services and treatment providing ARVs. A number of clients give themselves holidays, and when we do viral load monitoring, we find the viral load is high. Tracking them is a challenge as they come from far or have no phones,” Adrine explained.
SOT: SR. ADRINE ON HEALTH CARE
Ahumuza Janatih, a Health Counselor at the clinic, adds that denial remains a major hurdle in HIV care, as some clients who test positive refuse to accept their results and are referred to another person for confirmatory testing.
“When one turns positive, they sometimes deny the results and are referred to another person for testing,” she says.
Tugumisirize Amos, Executive Director of KADOLHA, confirms the 75% HIV prevalence among the Batwa and notes that nearly 70% of their families lack land of their own, often without land agreements after NGO resettlement and vulnerable to displacement.
He explains that poverty and food scarcity drive poor drug adherence, low retention in care, alcoholism, and gender-based violence, with patients trekking 3 to 5 kilometers to health facilities, some offering their bodies for food, and murders occurring when they are hungry or drunk.
“Poverty and lack of food are major contributors to poor drug adherence, low retention in care, alcoholism, and high rates of gender-based violence. Batwa patients find it hard to trek 3 to 5 km to the health facility. Some practice sex for food, offering their bodies to get food. There are also cases of murder when they are hungry or drunk,” KADOLHA ED Amos noted.
SOT: AMOS ON PREVALENCE RATE IN BATWA
Meanwhile, KADOLHA has introduced comprehensive programs, including animal keeping (sheep, goats), crop production (beans, Irish potatoes), tailoring machines for teenage girls, and psychosocial support for orphans.
The organization also provides HIV/AIDS care, follow-ups, referrals to health facilities, community-based healthcare, education support for marginalized children, and income-generating projects to sustain minority groups.
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