Remarks at the National Commemoration of World AIDS Day

• Your Excellency, The President of Uganda, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
• The Prime Minister, Right Honourable, Robinah Nabanja
• The Minister for the Presidency, Honourable Babirye Milly Babalanda
• Members of Parliament
• Development Partners
• Distinguished representatives of Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments
• Representatives of Civil Society Organisations and Private Sector,
• UN Colleagues,
• Ladies and Gentlemen

1. On behalf of the United Nations in Uganda, I am delighted to be here as we commemorate this year’s World AIDS Day on the theme “END INEQUALITIES, END AIDS, END EPIDEMICS”
2. As we commemorate, the World AIDS Day, we note that “We face an AIDS emergency. We cannot afford not to act.” Gains in ending the AIDS epidemic pandemic are at risk of being lost as attention has been diverted to COVID-19. In his message for World AIDS Day UN Secretary-General António Guterres notes, “It is still possible to end the epidemic by 2030. But that will require stepped up action and greater solidarity. We must also dismantle financial barriers to health care and increase investment in vital public services to achieve Universal Health Coverage for everyone, everywhere.”
3. Let me begin by expressing our solidarity with the Government of Uganda and renewing our commitment to work within the multi-stakeholder framework; the Government, development partners; network of persons living with HIV, civil society and private sector towards ending AIDS as a public health threat in Uganda by 2030.
4. I commend you, Your Excellency for your personal commitment, openness, and the unwavering leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Uganda. The HIV burden has been on a steady decline since the 1990s, up until now with prevalence is estimated to be at about 5.4% among adult population. Both new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths declined by 60% in the decade (2010-2020); Uganda was among the eight countries in the world that fully achieved the 90-90-90 UN targets by December 2020.
5. In Uganda, UN has been supporting the HIV response in development and implementation of the national policies, programmes and linking action against HIV/AIDS through capacity building, dialogue, coordination and improving laws and policies to support an effective HIV response. This is being delivered under the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS that - leads and inspires the country - to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. The Joint programme unites the efforts of 13 UN agencies  and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. We will continue to support Government, civil society and vulnerable communities to build resilient systems against the scourge. 
6. We commend Government of Uganda for the efforts towards innovative financing mechanisms most especially HIV mainstreaming in all the sectors, in an effort to implement objective 4 of the Presidential Fast Track Initiative (PFTI). We recommend that operationalization of AIDS Trust Fund and National Health Insurance be expeditiously undertaken in order to ensure -  predictable and sustainable financing for the HIV response amidst the COVID--19 pandemic.
7. Your Excellency, on behalf of the UN system in Uganda I call upon the Government to address critical issues that are driving the continuation of the AIDS epidemic during the COVID19 pandemic:

• I thank the Government for continuing to increase budget allocation to Health and HIV. Your Excellency, specifically for HIV Drugs, while the need is US$270M to sustain about 1.4M people Living with HIV, Government allocation is still at US$39M, highly dependent on external resources. It is my singular request that you increase allocation for ARVs to sustain the lives of 1.4 Million people
• Address the escalating rates of GBV and teenage pregnancy during COVID pandemic in Uganda. Prior to the pandemic, young women and adolescent girls comprised 33% of all new HIV infections in Uganda and the prevalence of HIV among women aged 20-24 was four times higher than men of the same age. While the reopening of schools will contribute to reducing gender based violence and teenage pregnancy, there is need to ensure that girls and young women in and out of school have inadequate knowledge of HIV prevention measures.
• Your Excellency, thank you for offering this country free Universal Primary and Secondary Education and granting pregnant girls to return to school, I humbly request that in the upcoming financial year, you increase budget allocation so that we can have more free Universal Secondary schools across the country so that adolescent and young girls can be retained and complete the education cycle
• Address complacency from the public about HIV/AIDS which was exacerbated by focus on COVID-19 over the past two years. Even was we continue to promote the COVID-19 Standard Operation Procedures, there is need for coordinated concerted efforts by stakeholders to revive public information campaigns about HIV/AIDS.
• We commend the Government of Uganda for its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, while seizing this opportunity to highlight the inextricable link between human rights and HIV/AIDS. Human rights violations have fueled the spread and exacerbated the impact of HIV/AIDS, especially for groups that are more vulnerable to contracting HIV. There is need to ensure non-discrimination and respect for the human rights of people living with HIV, as well as equitable access to HIV services for all those most in need of support,  such as minority groups, women and girls and other marginalized populations.

8. Once again, I would like to reiterate UN’s commitments towards Ending AIDS as Public health threat in Uganda by 2030 through supporting national policies, programmes and linking action against HIV/AIDS through capacity building, coordination and improving laws and policies to support an effective HIV response.
9. I thank the organisers of this World AIDS day led by Ugandan AIDS Commission for coordinating this important forum.

Thank you for listening to me.