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UGANDA: Majority of Lira workers don't use condoms - report

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 31 August (PLUSNEWS) - An estimated 70 percent of workers in the informal sector in the town of Lira, northern Uganda, do not use condoms as protection against HIV/AIDS, according to a new survey by the Platform for Labour Action (PLA), a civil society labour rights organisation.

According to the New Vision newspaper, the PLA study in April 2005 found that "some of the respondents still hold the view that AIDS does not exist. The majority of respondents - 70.7 percent - said they do not use condoms for protection, but engage in casual sex."

Many of the over 260 participants, mainly market vendors in Lira municipality, also lacked knowledge about the rights of HIV-positive people. Fatuma Kakooza, PLA programmes officer for advocacy and networking, said the impact of HIV/AIDS among informal-sector workers should be urgently addressed if the country's labour force was to be protected.

The study was funded by the American Jewish World Services and the Canadian International Development Agency.

[ENDS]

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