We are thrilled to announce that we have launched a new one-year project with our local partner RCRA Uganda called ‘Adolescent HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in Kasese District, Uganda.’
The project is funded by the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which since its founding in 1992 in memory of Freddie Mercury, has reached millions in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide.
We have worked with RCRA Uganda since 2019 to increase access to primary healthcare, including youth-friendly family planning services, and build climate-resilient families in the Kasese and Bunyangabu Districts in the West of Uganda sitting in the Rwenzururu Region.
Our new project will build on our Sexual and Reproductive Health work with RCRA Uganda by providing the information and commodities which people need to prevent HIV. We will improve knowledge of HIV, increase the use of condoms, and the uptake of HIV testing and counselling among 17,500 adolescents and youths.
Approximately 300 young boys and girls who are living with HIV in the project area will directly benefit through being linked to treatment and care to suppress their viral load and learning to establish kitchen gardens to support their nutrition.
The project will take place in five sub-counties of Busongera North, Kasese District, Uganda. It is a mountainous, rural area of Western Uganda.

One of the ways RCRA Uganda reaches young people with information about HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is in schools
What HIV challenges do young people face in Kasese District?
The local community has extremely poor health indicators compared to the national average; and they have extremely low levels of knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights information and poor access to services.
Population growth and an influx of refugees from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo is putting pressure on already constrained resources. There is high environmental degradation, deforestation and soil erosion, which has lowered agricultural yields, exacerbated food insecurity and amplified issues of poverty and inequality.
HIV is disproportionately affecting girls and young women aged 10-24, with more than double the rate of new infections in females compared to the males[1]. The motivations for engaging in sex for adolescent girls are multiple; embedded in poverty, gender inequality, and economic aspirations.
Levels of awareness of HIV are low, with only 45% of women and 44% of men having comprehensive knowledge on HIV. Misconceptions and stigma are also widespread; one of the common beliefs is that HIV is spread by sharing food and 22% of youth believe that children with HIV should not attend school[2].
Despite tremendous national progress reducing HIV prevalence to 6.6%, the Rwenzori region has shown persistently high rates of new HIV infections with a prevalence amongst adolescents.
The Rwenzori region also has one of the highest percentages of multiple sexual partners and lowest rates of condom use putting vulnerable victims of forced and unprotected sex at risk of contracting HIV.
Minimal HIV counselling and testing takes place. The public health clinics are small and poorly equipped, HIV testing kits are regularly out of stock and HIV testing in private clinics comes with a fee.

RCRA Uganda reaches communities in rural, hard-to-reach areas
There has been no HIV prevention campaign work going on in the district since 2022. With limited access to condoms and testing supplies, I was worried that the high rates of teenage pregnancies meant there are likely new undetected HIV infections. The launch of the project is a relief to the Kasese community, and a great opportunity for us to continue our community campaigns and mobilisation work on HIV prevention and treatment and supporting clients to suppress the virus.
Jostas Mwebembezi, Executive Director, RCRA Uganda
How will our project prevent HIV and improve life for people living with HIV?
The project aims to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HIV of 17,500 adolescents and youth from 10 schools. We will establish 40 condom dispensers and raise awareness of HIV through activities including:
- Conducting HIV training for 36 Community Health Workers and 52 Youth Peer Educators. With a deeper understanding of HIV, they will be better equipped to tackle stigma, encourage testing and have better treatment literacy to support the rest of the community affected by HIV.
- Reaching 480 out-of-school youths at community dialogues.
- Conducting 5000 HIV tests at mobile outreaches, Backpack Nurse outreaches and during home visits.
- Referring adolescents with HIV to health centres for viral load testing and supporting them to commence treatment.
The project will support 300 adolescents living with HIV by:
- Linking adolescents with HIV to a para social worker and support groups who hold Antiretroviral Treatment days for psychosocial support to improve HIV treatment literacy, financial literacy, life skills training and social asset building to improve social safety nets.
- Linking adolescents with HIV to one of RCRA Uganda’s 23 kitchen garden demonstration sites and supporting them to establish their own kitchen gardens to improve their nutrition and food security.
- Following up with people living with HIV who are defaulting on treatment.
We are grateful to Mercury Phoenix Trust who has given us an exciting opportunity to integrate a comprehensive HIV project into our wider programmes. CHASE Africa’s local partners have established and wide-reaching programmes which provide an excellent platform to roll out essential HIV interventions.
We look forward to keeping you updated on this exciting project.

RCRA Uganda's kitchen garden scheme supports nutrition and food security