By Ben Musanje
Leaders from Kitante Hill Village and Kitante Hill Secondary School have raised separate but related concerns over what they describe as rising prostitution and an expanding nightlife economy in the Kitante Hill and Acacia areas, calling for stronger preventive action to curb HIV infections as Uganda pushes toward ending AIDS by 2030.
The concerns were voiced during the Candlelight Memorial commemoration organized by the Uganda AIDS Commission at Kitante Hill Secondary School grounds on Tuesday, an event that brought together education leaders, community representatives, and government officials, including Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda.
Speaking at the event, Kitante Hill Secondary School Deputy Head Teacher Sandrah Mlay emphasized the critical role of education in preventing HIV, particularly among adolescent girls, arguing that classrooms remain one of the most effective long-term interventions.
She noted that the school, which is mixed-gender, continues to integrate HIV awareness into learning while also engaging students through partnerships with health organizations.
“Kitante Hill School is a mixed-gender school, boys and girls. But because of the theme of ending HIV by 2030, we are looking at the role of education in prevention among girls,” Mlay said.
She stressed that education equips girls with knowledge, confidence, and decision-making power that reduces their vulnerability to HIV infection.
“When a girl learns, she gains truth, she understands how HIV is transmitted and how it is not, and she gains the right to say no and be safe,” she said.
Mlay added that remaining in school significantly lowers HIV risk, citing evidence that each additional year of secondary education reduces a girl’s likelihood of infection by up to 12 percent. She attributed this to delayed sexual debut, reduced exposure to exploitation, and improved life planning.
She further argued that education also provides economic empowerment, enabling girls to resist transactional relationships driven by poverty.
“A girl who can read can earn. A girl who can earn can negotiate. Poverty steals choices, but education restores them,” she said.
She called for increased investment in keeping girls in school through scholarships, provision of sanitary materials, and mentorship support, while also urging the full implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in schools for both boys and girls.
Separately, Kitante Hill Village Chairperson Martin Charles Aloma raised concerns over what he described as a rapid expansion of nightlife activities in the area, warning that it is contributing to risky sexual behaviour and increasing HIV vulnerability.
Aloma said the population of Kitante Hill changes significantly at night due to the influx of people drawn by bars and entertainment establishments.
“At daytime we are about 600 residents, but at night we become over 1,500 people because of investors in bars,” he said.
He alleged that some of these establishments have become unregulated spaces linked to prostitution, further warning that condom availability in such venues is limited.
“These bars don’t have condom dispensers. Some have turned into brothels,” Aloma said, adding that the situation requires urgent regulatory attention.
He also raised concern over visible street-based sex work in parts of Kitante Hill and Acacia, describing it as a growing public health risk.
According to Aloma, the combination of unregulated nightlife, economic vulnerability, and lack of preventive services is fueling conditions that increase HIV transmission risk in the area.
Despite their different institutional roles, both leaders called for urgent action to address the social drivers of HIV. The school emphasized education as a preventive tool, while the village leadership pointed to the need for stronger regulation of nightlife economies and public health enforcement.
The Candlelight Memorial commemoration highlighted broader national efforts to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030, with stakeholders stressing the importance of combining education, community regulation, and behavior change strategies.
Speakers at the event called for closer collaboration between schools, communities, and government agencies to address both structural and behavioral drivers of HIV, particularly among young people in urban areas.
The event concluded with renewed appeals for sustained prevention efforts, stronger community engagement, and continued investment in education as a frontline defense against new infections. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
