Uganda has recorded significant progress in HIV treatment, with 86 percent of people living with HIV achieving viral load suppression, according to preliminary findings of the 2025 Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA).
The findings, released by Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Thursday, show that the country’s HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 and above stands at 5.9 percent, translating to about 1.5 million people living with HIV.
The prevalence has remained largely unchanged from the 2020 UPHIA survey.
Women continue to have a higher prevalence at 7.3 percent compared with 4.1 percent among men.
Dr Baryomunsi said the findings demonstrate strong progress in HIV diagnosis, treatment and viral load management, while also identifying areas requiring greater attention.
“Almost everyone who knows they are living with HIV is on treatment, and almost everyone on treatment has suppressed the virus,” he said.
The survey found that 85.3 percent of adults living with HIV knew their status, 99.1 percent of those who knew their status were receiving antiretroviral therapy, while 96.5 percent of those on treatment had achieved viral suppression.
The minister said the major remaining gap is HIV diagnosis, with about one in seven people living with HIV unaware of their status.
The proportion of all adults living with HIV who were virally suppressed increased from 75.4 percent in the 2020 survey to 86 percent in 2025.
The South-Western region recorded the highest level of viral suppression at 92.3 percent, while Mid-Eastern had the lowest at 78 percent.
The survey also showed that HIV prevalence varies considerably across the country, ranging from 1.3 percent in Karamoja and 1.4 percent in West Nile to 8 percent in the South-Western region.
Among young people aged 15 to 24, HIV prevalence stood at 1.5 percent, with women recording 2 percent compared with 1 percent among men.
The findings further indicate that prevalence among people aged 20 to 24 is substantially higher than among adolescents aged 15 to 19, prompting calls for earlier prevention and testing interventions.
Dr Baryomunsi said the government would use the findings to direct resources to communities with the greatest gaps while strengthening primary healthcare services.
He urged Ugandans to know their HIV status, use prevention services and start treatment promptly when diagnosed.
The survey also assessed selected non-communicable diseases and found that 15.5 percent of people aged 15 and above had elevated blood pressure, while 0.9 percent had elevated blood glucose. Overweight and obesity affected 24.8 percent of participants.
UPHIA 2025 was conducted between July and September 2025 across all regions of Uganda. It achieved a 94.4 percent household participation rate, with more than 97 percent of interviewed men and women tested for HIV.
The survey was led by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda Virus Research Institute, regional referral hospitals and districts, with funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Ministry said additional findings, including HIV incidence, programme coverage and behavioural indicators, will be released in the final report.
The UPHIA exercise is part of Uganda’s efforts to strengthen evidence-based HIV programming and work towards ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030. The Ministry has previously described UPHIA as a key tool for guiding HIV policy, resource allocation and service delivery.
