President Yoweri Museveni has re-emphasized the need for school authorities to fully implement free education policy in government schools to combat HIV/AIDS among adolescents aged 15 years and above.

“You said that young people who are not in school are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS but also this is due to not listening to my advice because in 1996 I introduced free Education in government schools but some people like the head teachers frustrated that arrangement, they make parents pay fees in government schools”, the President said.

“Such fees are the ones keeping children out of school. If you did that, you would liberate these young children from that dependence on other people prematurely. We should take it as one of the Anti-AIDS measures. The children from the poor homes should go to school and be looked after by the Republic of Uganda through free education.” he added.

According to the recent statistics from the Uganda AIDS Commission, about 52,000 new HIV infections and 17,000 AIDS related deaths occur per year. These new infections are occurring among the young girls and women between the age of 15 to 24 years.

“ Originally this virus took us by surprise, we didn’t know where it was coming from, but within a short time we got to know that it was coming through sex and from that time, we told people that you can easily avoid this problem and when they do, it works.

It doesn’t spread. Now that we know where it comes from, why is it continuing to spread? From the data, it seems part of the problem are the young people from the age of 15 plus, who are desperate, and they surrender their lives to people who infect them,”.

He made the remarks Friday during the World AIDS Day commemoration held at Kibaale playground in Rakai District. The event ran under the theme: “Ending AIDS by 2030, Keeping Communities at the Centre”.

Every year, on 1st December, the world commemorates International AIDS Day where people around the globe unite to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to the scourge.

President Museveni also reiterated his call to Ugandans to exercise prevention as the main strategy and solution in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“You should counsel the children from the tender age that even though the treatment is available if you get infected, the virus limits your health. So, to get the full potential of your life, avoid this virus. Prevention is the number one solution in our fight against HIV/AIDS,” the President said.