Increase of HIV in pregnant teenagers worries.

According to Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) records, Uganda had 38,000 new HIV infections in 2020, a 28 percent decrease from the 53,000 infections recorded in 2019.94 out of 200 teenage moms in Kalangala District tested positive for HIV.

Last year, 5,300 babies were born with HIV/AIDS.
When Rose Mary Nakatte (not her real name) dropped out of school during last year’s Covid-19-induced lockdown and moved in with her parents in Kibanga Village, Kalangala District, she was hopeful that things would return to normal and she would be able to pursue her future goals.
Nakatte, a Primary Seven student at one of Kalagala Town Council’s schools, was led into sexual activity by a fishmonger, who impregnated her five months into the first lockdown.

Nakatte was seven months pregnant when her classmates took their Primary Leaving Examination on March 23 and 24, and she never bothered to register for her final exams.
“I was unable to increase the examination registration fees because my parents were already irritated with me. “I just stopped studying and focused on my pregnancy,” she explains.

Nakatte, who gave birth in March, is one of 200 Kalangala adolescent females under the age of 16 who have given birth in the last 19 months. 94 of the 200 adolescent moms tested positive for HIV.

During the two lockdowns, more than 1,000 teen moms contracted HIV/AIDS, according to statistics from the Masaka Sub-nine region’s districts.

Rakai has the most adolescent moms who have contracted HIV/AIDS, with 166, followed by Kyotera (144), Sembabule (140), Masaka (130), Bukomansimbi (122), Lwengo (112), Lyantonde (105), Kalangala (100), and Kalungu (94)

According to health officials, the incidence of HIV/Aids cases among teenagers has doubled compared to when schools were open.

The teenagers who were tested were those who visited health centers and hospitals for prenatal care.
Many parents have neglected to sensitize their children about the dangers of early sex and pregnancy, according to Dr Edward Muwanga, the Kyotera District health officer, exposing them to dangerous behaviors such as having unprotected sex with several partners throughout the long holiday.

“Every month, we receive between five and seven pregnant girls from each of the seven sub-counties,” she says, attributing the rising number of pregnant girls in Kalangala to school closures.

Ms Caroline Nabweere, a midwife at Kalangala Health Centre IV, notes that many pregnant women who require antenatal care come to the clinic only once before giving birth.

According to Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) records, Uganda had 38,000 new HIV infections in 2020, a 28 percent decrease from the 53,000 infections recorded in 2019.

According to earlier data from the UAC, new HIV infections in the country were stable at 53,000 in 2018 and 2019. Despite the dramatic decrease, Dr Nelson Musoba, the director general of UAC, argues that 38,000 infections is still a high number, implying that more than 104 persons are infected every day.

In 2020, 5,300 newborns were born with HIV/Aids, and new infection rates among female teenagers were four times greater than their male counterparts.
The goal of the commission is to prevent 43,000 new infections among adolescent girls and women.