Daniel Ojara, Oyam (UG): According to a health report released this week by the Most At Risk Population Initiative (MARPI), a district-based organization, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among teenagers aged 15 to 25 is high in Oyam.

According to the research, the number of new HIV cases in Oyam district averages between 280 and 350 every month and 15 to 25 per week, with the majority of cases occurring among adolescents aged 15 to 25 years.

According to Dr. Kyambadde Peter, the regional coordinator for MARPI in the northern region, the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection among adolescents in Oyam district is linked to an increase in the number of sex workers among young adolescent girls, household poverty, and parents relaxing their parenting role.

However, Oyam district LC 5 chairman, Mr. Dilla Benson, believes that in order to lower the high prevalence of HIV among teenage girls in Oyam district, sex education in schools is required to educate adolescents about the hazards of early sex. Parents should also begin sensitizing their children to peer pressure, and religious leaders should be involved in providing counsel.

According to the 2017 Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) survey, there were 148,442 persons living with HIV/AIDS in nine districts of the Lango sub-region.