Uganda government is concerned about the increase of pornography in the country. It says pornography is contributing to the rise in HIV-AIDS infections. Last year, the country’s minister of Ethics and Integrity attacked Congolese sex workers for infecting Ugandans with HIV/AIDs.
The Uganda government has linked pornography to the recent increase of HIV-AIDS infection after the minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo condemned pornography in the country which he attributed to people’s copying western and American lifestyle through reading magazines and watching films from overseas.
During a press interview in Uganda’s capital Kampala Buturo is quoted saying that “Most cinema and film halls in Uganda are showing pornographic materials. The government is out to punish whoever is engaged in the promotion of pornography in Uganda.”
According to Minister pornography is bad especially among the youth in this era of HIV/Aids. “After watching pornographic materials many people go for sex thus leading to an increase in the spread of AIDS.”
The minister said the challenge the government is finding today is to emancipate its people politically, economically and socially, especially the youth.
Uganda had succeeded in reducing HIV-AIDS prevalence from 30 per cent in late 1980’s to 6.7 per cent in early 2000 to present. But the prevalence has remained constant for the last couple of years up to today where medical authorities say that it is on the increase although there are no figures to back the said increase. This is because no national research has been carried out to collect recent figures.
Last year, the government of Uganda said it was concerned about a great number of Congolese sex workers who had invaded a region in North eastern Uganda bordering eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. According to them, the influx had contributed to the rapid increase in the spread of HIV-AIDs.
Although James Nsaba Buturo had admitted that it would be difficult to establish which Congolese women were infected he had called for their arrest after he said that it was “unfortunate that the Congolese women are infecting our people with HIV-AIDS. The law in Uganda is clear, those who infect others with HIV-AIDS knowingly must be arrested and prosecuted in courts of law.’’
