A Ugandan female member of parliament has asked the government to come up with a policy that makes it compulsory for men to test for HIV/Aids, claiming that men are responsible for the spread of the virus, local online website, Daily Monitor reports.
Ms Judith Alyek, the Parliamentary Committee on HIV/Aids chairperson, argued that the move is necessary because many men are responsible for the spread of the virus.
Alyek said that the already existing policy by the Ministry of Health, which requires men to accompany their pregnant wives for antenatal care, where both partners are subjected to HIV/Aids testing, is ineffective.
“Many men are refusing to accompany their wives to the hospitals due to fear that they would be subjected to HIV testing, so their wives are now resorting to hiring boda boda riders who they present at the health facilities as their husbands in order to easily access services,” she said on Monday.
During a press conference organized by Uganda Aids Commission ahead this year’s World Aids Day celebrations, Alyek said that if a new policy that subjects men to compulsory testing from anywhere, fighting the scourge will be successful.
According to Alyek, women and young girls are being infected by men yet when they test positive, they refuse to take life-prolonging medication and end up dying.
According to a report by AVERT, in 2016, an estimated 1.4 million people were living with HIV, and an estimated 28,000 Ugandans died of AIDS-related illnesses.
