End HIV/AIDS Prevalence Among Children in Uganda
Uganda has committed to achieving zero new HIV infections and ending HIV transmission by 2030. Despite this commitment, HIV remains a significant public health challenge among children. In 2023, children accounted for approximately 11% of all new HIV infections in the country. According to the Uganda National Institute of Public Health, a total of 63,599 children aged 0–14 years were newly diagnosed with HIV between 2015 and 2023, representing an annual average of 7,128 new paediatric infections. These figures underscore the persistent gaps in prevention, early diagnosis, and access to treatment services for mothers and children.
Valizo Foundation is committed to reducing and ultimately eliminating HIV infections among children through comprehensive, evidence-based interventions. The Foundation promotes the elimination of mother-to-child transmission by supporting early antenatal care attendance, HIV testing and counselling for pregnant and breastfeeding women, timely initiation and adherence to antiretroviral therapy, safe infant feeding practices, and early infant diagnosis.
In addition, the Foundation implements HIV prevention programmes targeting adolescent girls and young women, who remain disproportionately vulnerable to infection due to gender inequalities, poverty, gender-based violence, and limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.
Recognising that HIV transmission patterns vary across regions, Valizo Foundation also prioritises outreach programmes in high-burden and hard-to-reach communities, including border districts and highly mobile populations where cross-border transmission is prevalent. Through community sensitisation, partnerships with health facilities, mobilisation of community health workers, and linkage to prevention, treatment, and care services, the Foundation seeks to reduce new HIV infections, improve treatment outcomes, and contribute to Uganda's goal of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Nutrition and Non-Communicable Diseases Burden
Poor nutrition remains a major obstacle to child development and national productivity in Uganda. According to Uganda's Fourth National Development Plan, the country's Human Capital Index is 0.38, meaning that a child born today is expected to be only 38% as productive as they could be with full education and good health.
Approximately 26% of children under five are stunted, while 2.9% suffer from wasting, reflecting chronic and acute malnutrition. In addition, although nearly 5,000 babies are born every day in Uganda, many are deprived of the life-saving benefits of exclusive breastfeeding during their first months of life.
Uganda is also experiencing a growing burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases. According to the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health's 2023 Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Survey, over 30% of all deaths in the country are now attributed to non-communicable diseases.
Valizo Foundation promotes good nutrition through breastfeeding support, nutrition education, school-based health programmes, and community awareness campaigns that encourage healthy eating habits and the prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases, particularly among children, adolescents, and vulnerable families.
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system, its functions, and processes. It encompasses sexual health, healthy relationships, access to accurate reproductive health information, counselling, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, one in three girls below the age of 15 had experienced forced sexual intercourse by 2020. Teenage pregnancy among girls aged 10–19 years remains a major challenge, driven by child marriage, early sexual debut, peer pressure, inadequate access to comprehensive reproductive health information, substance abuse, and sexual violence.
The consequences include maternal health complications, school dropout, stigma, reduced economic opportunities, and intergenerational poverty.
Valizo Foundation promotes adolescent reproductive health through age-appropriate sexuality education, community sensitisation, counselling, and child protection initiatives. The Foundation encourages abstinence, empowers young people to resist peer pressure, raises awareness about sexual and reproductive health rights, and supports adolescents to stay in school and make informed decisions that safeguard their health and future.
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