The World AIDS Day theme for the year 2024 read aloud; “Take the Rights Path: My Health, My Right!”.
This theme represents a renewed global commitment to eliminate AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
The goal is particularly pressing for Uganda’s fishing communities, where marginalized populations often face significant challenges, including stigma, violence, and limited access to crucial health services.
These factors collectively heighten their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.
During my recent visit to Kigungu—a fishing community served by Family Medical Point (FMP) through mobile outreach services—I had the opportunity to witness the challenges that women encounter in the FMP Musawo Session.
This safe space allows women to discuss their experiences, enhance their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, and share their realities.
One participant, a sex worker, shared her experience of a violent encounter that occurred when she insisted on using condoms, which resulted in beatings and blows that knocked out two teeth, leaving her living in fear.
Another participant relayed concerns about clients removing condoms during intercourse, which poses substantial health risks.
These heartbreaking stories reflect the silent pain many endure daily.
Access to essential resources, such as condoms, remains inconsistent.
Women often travel long distances only to find that supplies are depleted, or they face stigmatizing attitudes at health facilities.
Despite commendable progress in Uganda’s response to HIV, considerable challenges persist.
According to the Uganda AIDS Commission (2024), there are approximately 730 new HIV infections each week.
While the national HIV prevalence rate was recorded at 5.4% in 2023, fishing communities experience an alarmingly higher prevalence of 22–28%, as reported by the Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) 2020-2021.
These fishing communities, often geographically isolated, encounter inadequacies in health systems, regular shortages of medications and condoms, and lengthy wait times at healthcare facilities.
Such structural barriers can impede autonomy and deepen vulnerability among women.
Additionally, the link between sexual pleasure and safer sex practices is frequently underappreciated.
Traditional health campaigns often utilize fear—focusing on potential disease, unintended pregnancies, or moral judgement—as a means to influence behavior.
However, many individuals resist condom use, believing it reduces pleasure.
Family Medical Point is addressing this concern by incorporating discussions about pleasure into sexual and reproductive health education.
Evidence suggests that when condoms are presented as tools to enhance pleasure rather than diminish it, adoption rates significantly improve.
At the heart of Family Medical Point’s initiatives is the fundamental connection between health and rights.
For over six years, Family Medical Point has been dedicated to advocating for marginalized groups within Uganda’s fishing communities by providing complimentary HIV testing, counseling, and outreach campaigns that promote open dialogue about pleasure and safety.
These initiatives serve to reaffirm the principle that health is a universal human right.
Reports such as UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Update 2023 and Uganda’s HIV & AIDS Country Progress Report 2022 highlight the pressing need for targeted interventions.
It is essential that marginalized groups—including sex workers, individuals who use drugs, and those residing in fishing communities—no longer shoulder a disproportionate burden of HIV.
Dismantling structural barriers, such as violence, stigma, and resource shortages, is critical for achieving equitable progress.
FMP’s vision is to empower marginalized populations by ensuring that their rights are upheld and that health services are both accessible and equitable.
This includes the provision of consistent condom supplies, compassionate care from healthcare professionals, and pleasure-centered sexual and reproductive health education.
Such transformative changes have the potential to save lives and significantly reduce the incidence of new infections.
On this World AIDS Day, the message is clear: safeguarding human rights remains pivotal to the effort to end AIDS.
For Uganda’s fishing communities, this involves dismantling stigma, ensuring access to life-saving resources, and empowering individuals with knowledge and agency.
The endeavor to eradicate AIDS transcends medical statistics; it is a quest for justice, dignity, and equity. Together, let us embrace the rights path toward a future where every individual can live a healthy and empowered life.
The Author is Moses Odongo, Executive Director at Family Medical Point
