MINISTRY OF TOURISM REINFORCES HIV FIGHT AMID RISING GLOBAL THREATS
- mtwa tourism
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) has today, 1st December 2025, joined the international community to mark World AIDS Day in Bushenyi with a renewed commitment to intensifying HIV/AIDS prevention, integrating HIV-sensitive policies, and strengthening stigma-free workplaces within the tourism sector.
The event took place at Kizinda Grounds, where the Ministry underscored the critical link between public health and the sector’s sustainability, as global data warns of deepening vulnerabilities in the global AIDS response.
The Ministry stated that a healthy population is fundamental to the resilience and growth of Uganda’s tourism industry, a sector driven by people, community interactions, and service delivery. MTWA reaffirmed its alignment with the Presidential Fast-Track Initiative to End AIDS by 2030 and the aspirations of the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), asserting that HIV/AIDS mainstreaming will be strengthened across all programmes, policies, and stakeholder engagements. Emphasis was placed on raising workplace awareness, promoting prevention, eliminating stigma, and ensuring that HIV-sensitive planning is embedded across tourism development initiatives.
In his message, His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni emphasized behavioral change amongst young people, doing away with alcohol, and emphasized the role of parents in grooming and raising an HIV free generation in line with the 5 objectives of the presidential initiative.
Ritah Kabugho, the Acting Commissioner for Human Resources at the Ministry, emphasized the importance of integrating HIV activities into the workplace. This aligns with the president's initiative to end AIDS by 2030. She highlighted the need to create a safe working environment for government employees, particularly those at the ministry, so that they can set a positive example in the communities where they live.
The World AIDS Day Report 2025 paints a stark picture of the global HIV/AIDS landscape, revealing significant setbacks driven by funding cuts, service disruptions, and rising infections among vulnerable groups.
According to the report, an estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV in 2024, while 1.3 million people acquired HIV, representing only a 40% decline compared to 2010, well below the trajectory needed to meet the 2030 targets.
Additionally, 630,000 AIDS-related deaths occurred globally in 2024, and approximately 11 million people are living with unsuppressed viral loads, increasing the risk of continued transmission. These statistics illustrate the fragility of global progress and underscore the need for renewed multisector involvement, including from tourism-related institutions.
The report further highlights how the funding crisis in 2025 has severely disrupted HIV services worldwide. Clinics were forced to close, frontline workers were laid off, and community-led organizations lost up to 60% of their funding. This disruption resulted in millions of people losing access to lifesaving treatment and prevention services. Access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dropped drastically, with 2.5 million people losing access globally.
Uganda experienced a 31% decline in PrEP uptake, while other countries like Burundi saw declines as high as 64%. HIV testing was similarly affected, with Uganda recording a 17% reduction during early 2025 and other countries such as Cameroon reporting drops as high as 43%. These disruptions threaten to reverse gains made over the past decade.
Young women and girls continue to face particularly steep risks. Globally, 570 adolescent girls and young women acquire HIV daily, with Sub-Saharan Africa carrying the heaviest burden. Key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and people in closed settings, now account for 49% of all new global HIV infections, up from 44% in 2010.
The rising share of infections among these groups reflects both programmatic gaps and increasing criminalization, stigma, and discrimination. The report shows that in 2025 alone, 48 new HIV-related criminal prosecutions were documented across 23 countries, adding legal pressure to the health challenges these communities already face.
Despite these setbacks, global and national stakeholders are deploying a range of interventions aimed at stabilizing and strengthening the HIV response. Internationally, the United States’ America First Global Health Strategy has pledged to maintain funding for 100% of essential frontline HIV commodities and health worker salaries while countries expand domestic co-financing. The Global Fund’s 8th replenishment has secured US$11.34 billion, providing critical support for continuity of antiretroviral treatment and other services. Additionally, new agreements with generic manufacturers will reduce the cost of long-acting injectable PrEP to US$40 per person per year, significantly enhancing global access.
Countries like Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, and Vietnam have taken decisive steps to increase domestic funding and integrate HIV services into national systems. Uganda is actively working to double its domestic health spending, while also exploring expansions in HIV-sensitive tourism workplace policies. Other countries are adopting innovative measures such as transitioning donor-funded health workers onto government payrolls, investing in local manufacturing of HIV commodities, and reforming health insurance schemes to include broader HIV service coverage. These developments reflect a broader shift toward sustainability and national ownership of HIV responses.
Communities have also demonstrated remarkable resilience. In Uganda, when donor cuts forced the closure of offices for the national network of people living with HIV, the Uganda AIDS Commission stepped in to provide space to sustain operations. Community organizations in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mozambique, and Vietnam have adopted hybrid funding models, strengthened partnerships with local government, or developed co-payment schemes to keep prevention and treatment services accessible. These interventions highlight the critical role of community-led structures, which remain essential to reaching underserved populations and maintaining accountability within health systems.
On the global stage, the forthcoming Global AIDS Strategy 2026–2031 emphasizes sustainability, service integration, community leadership, and human-rights-based approaches. The strategy aims to ensure 40 million people access HIV treatment and 20 million people access antiretroviral-based prevention by 2030. It also prioritizes eliminating stigma and discrimination, increasing domestic financing, and integrating HIV services within broader health systems to build resilience beyond 2030. These strategic commitments provide a blueprint for countries like Uganda to adapt, invest, and safeguard their progress despite funding uncertainties.
For MTWA, the urgent need for multisector involvement is clear. The Ministry reaffirmed its stance that the tourism sector, one of Uganda’s most consistent contributors to GDP, cannot thrive without healthy communities and workers. Through increased partnerships with district authorities, civil society, health institutions, private sector tourism players, and community structures, MTWA plans to embed HIV prevention and awareness into everyday tourism operations. This includes strengthening workplace health systems, enhancing community engagement around tourism hubs, and integrating HIV messages into tourism training institutions and conservation programmes.
As Uganda joins the global community in commemorating this year’s World AIDS Day, the Ministry reiterated its commitment to supporting national HIV/AIDS efforts. MTWA emphasized that protecting the well-being of Ugandans is essential for preserving the resilience, sustainability, and competitiveness of Uganda’s tourism industry. With solidarity, data-driven action, and strengthened institutional collaboration, the Ministry expressed confidence that Uganda can stay on track to achieve an AIDS-free nation by 2030, noting: “Together, we can achieve an AIDS-free Uganda.”
