Nearly one million Ugandans have died as a result of Aids since the deadly disease was first identified in the East African nation in 1983, the Health Ministry said.
In a report released on Wednesday, the ministry said 947 552 people have fallen victim to Aids-related diseases during the last 19 years, including 427 153 women, 425 644 men and 94 755 children aged 15 years or below.
One million Ugandans are infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, the report said. Uganda, which has a population of 24-million, is often cited as one of Africa’s success stories in fighting HIV/Aids.
It reduced adult HIV infection rates from 18% in 1995 to 8,3% in 1999. But the decline has slowed, and fighting HIV costs Uganda about 0,8% of its gross domestic product every year.
Aids is the leading killer of adults in Uganda and is responsible for 12% of all deaths in the country. The report’s data was compiled from government and private hospitals in Uganda’s 56 districts.
Of the 35-million people worldwide with HIV, 26,5-million of them are Africans. – Sapa-AP