Police force too weak to fight HIV/AIDS

UGANDA: Police force too weak to fight HIV/AIDS

JOHANNESBURG, 27 Sep 2005 (PLUSNEWS) - Police officers in Uganda are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection due to frequent job transfers, poor living conditions and risky sexual practices, according to a local newspaper, the Daily Monitor.

Police superintendent Bazirakye Kaguta said about 13 percent of police officers in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, were HIV positive - more than double the national rate of six percent.

The Kampala police recently launched a club to provide testing, counselling and HIV/AIDS information for members of the force and their partners, but the campaign has been hampered by inadequate infrastructure and the reluctance of officers to come forward for testing.

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