Francis Kagolo
14 October 2008
Kampala — SHARING women is one of the leading causes of the high HIV/AIDS prevalence among the fishing communities on Lake Victoria, a new report has revealed.
The practice, the report says, is fuelled by the small number of women on the landing sites and the nomadic nature of the fishermen.
The report by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation says the number of women is 200 less than the 900 men in the Jinja islands of Masese, Rwabitooke, Kisiima I and Kisiima II.
"At least six out of every 10 people around the lake are HIV-positive because of the prevailing situations at the landing sites," the report states.
The HIV rates among the fishermen are also high because they consider drowning as more dangerous than being infected with the virus.
The fishermen spend more money on alcohol, entertainment and sex, rendering them prone to HIV.
The fisheries organisation is a regional body under the East African Community charged with managing fisheries resources on the lake.
The organisation has partnered with the East African Communities' Organisation for the Management of Lake Victoria Resources, a regional NGO, to fight the pandemic.
The organisation's spokesperson, Dorothy Nanyonga, said in a Monday statement that through the partnership, they would conduct behavioural change campaigns on the islands.
She said poverty was aggravating the spread of the disease in the area.
The Lake Victoria Fisheries director, Dick Nyeko, said poverty had driven women into sex, in exchange for fish.
"To make matters worse, many landing sites lack access to information and services like ARVs," Nyeko said.
Bishop Barnabas Halem Imana of the Uganda AIDS Commission last year said over 80% of the residents in the island district of Kalangala were HIV-positive.
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