Youth and local leaders in Buikwe District are expressing concern over the rising trend of relationships between older women and young men, which they believe is contributing to an alarming increase in HIV/AIDS cases in the district.
Leaders attribute the rise in HIV infection cases to socio-economic pressures compelling young men to form relationships with older women, often seeking financial support and improved living conditions. This dynamic creates a power imbalance, increasing vulnerability to unsafe sexual practices and subsequently heightening the risk of HIV transmission.
While speaking to the media on December 3, 2024, Twaha Kawenyera, the Buikwe district youth counselor, revealed that these young men easily fall prey to the rich older women who entice them with food, cars, money, and jobs in exchange for unsafe sex practices.
Kawenyera added that these cases of HIV/AIDS infections are common among young men aged 17-25 at the landing sites and rich older women.
“These rich older women deliberately engage in unprotected sex with their victims, aiming to spread the disease easily, as their victims often return to the landing sites and sleep around with other people,” Kawenyera reported.
He also disclosed that the relationships between these young men and older women are increasing because of unfaithfulness from their husbands, which forces these women to sleep around with the young men as payback, hence leading to a surge in HIV infections.
Shaniya Nalweyiso, the woman councilor for Buikwe sub-county and Buikwe Town Council, said that the youth at the landing sites disclosed to some of their youth leaders that they have unprotected sex because they are too shy to go to the shops to buy them.
Nalweyiso added that there are new HIV infection cases because parents stopped teaching sex education and the dangers of HIV/AIDS to their children, hence why the youth are recklessly sleeping around with various partners but with no protection measures in place.
“The Ministry of Health needs to start new HIV/AIDS workshops in various communities and equip the youth in the district with knowledge about this disease because they are so green and are recklessly wasting away their lives,” Nalweyiso said.
The situation in Buikwe district highlights a critical public health challenge that requires immediate attention from local authorities and health organizations because, according to UNAIDS district-level statistics, Buikwe district reported 880 new HIV infections, making it one of the districts with the highest rates of new infections in Uganda.
This alarming statistic underscores the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address both the socio-economic factors driving these relationships and the public health implications of rising HIV rates because addressing the complex interplay between socio-economic factors and health education is essential for mitigating the rise of HIV/AIDS cases among youth in Buikwe District.
