Inter-Religious Council blames HIV surge on nude parties, alcoholism

The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda has attributed the rising cases of HIV infections in the country to the proliferation of nude parties, alcoholism and other high-risk sexual behaviours.

Dr Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, the Archbishop of Church of Uganda who heads the Council, on Mondayyesterday said the government should work with religious leaders to reduce the over 100 new infections happening in the country daily.

“The house parties, especially amongst University students, there is a lot of partying and the issue of nudity during that time is no longer a problem. Students are drinking and this has created a lot of problems," he said.

Archbishop Kaziimba added: “Yesterday [Sunday], I read a WhatsApp message, some younger people in the group, they go somewhere and buy young ladies and they say “we pay around Shs200,000 and we chew them and they get Aids. Unfortunately, we have Aids and they have joined our club and they also take pills like us.” I felt so sad. Behavioural change should really be given a lot of attention.”

READ: How to prevent HIV infection

Deputy Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Muhammad Ali Waiswa, who is also a member of Pornography Control Committee at the Ethics and Integrity ministry, on the other hand, said the country is struggling with gross reduction in moral values.

Sheikh Waiswa said: “Trans-night nude clubs are on the increase, particularly in the cities of Kampala and other cities that have been named. Pornography has become a problem and there is little regulation to fight it. The policymakers should take up their weapon to address this matter.”

“It (increase in nude clubs and pornography) explains the increase of HIV because every night, especially over the weekends, people are in those clubs and in Kampala alone, there are several of those and there are hotels which are well known for this,” he added.

READ: Increasing HIV deaths worry Uganda AIDS Commission bosses

The duo spoke during a press conference where religious leaders were reacting to the new HIV figures released by the UAC, which showed around 38,000 new HIV infections were recorded last year. 

The Council emphasised the need for married people to be faithful and also urged parents to teach their children the benefits of abstinence in preventing HIV. They said the government’s promotion of biomedical interventions such as use of vaginal rings in HIV prevention should not be taken as a silver bullet as they may not be 100 percent effective.

Dr Joseph Serwadda of Victory Christian Centre Churches and the Presiding Apostle of the Born Again Faith in Uganda, said the UAC should formally engage religious leaders so that the two parties can work together on gaps that need to be fixed to address the high numbers of HIV infections.

Key data

The 2024 figures from Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) indicate a high HIV/Aids burden in urban areas and among adolescent girls and young women despite efforts to tame the epidemic. 

The data shows that more than 80 percent of the newly created cities have infections higher than the national HIV prevalence of 5.1 percent.