UPDF HIV Director Blames Rising Infections on Youth Indiscipline

The Director of HIV/AIDS in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Lt. Col. Hon. Evelyn Asiimwe, has blamed the continued spread of HIV among young people on what she called careless behaviour and growing indiscipline.

Hon. Asiimwe delivered the message on December 6, during day six of the ongoing Kigezi youth ideological orientation training at St. Gerald’s Secondary School, in Rukungiri.

According to her, Uganda is committed to ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, and the country has already made remarkable progress with HIV prevalence dropping from 18% in the 1980s to 4.9% today.

The Rukungiri District Youth Chairperson and host of the training, Levi Tukundane, commonly known as Napoleon, appealed to government policymakers to go beyond sensitisation and ensure that protective tools such as condoms are made easily accessible.

The Kigezi youth ideological orientation training, which started on Monday 1st December, is set to conclude today, Sunday 7th December 2025, with the commissioning of trainees.