Public Health Messaging

Part of the reason Uganda has been so successful in reducing the incidence and spread of HIV is through its frank and open public health messaging.  I walk past these signs every day on my way to work near Mulago Hospital.

However there is still a stigma attached to being HIV positive.  All pregnant women are routinely screened for HIV so that they can make informed decisions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus; I was shocked to learn that in a recent study, only 40% of expectant mothers who tested positive told their partners because they were scared of the repercussions, and with due reason: one third of those who told their partners suffered divorce, being thrown out or violence as a result.