RoyalRaysInitiativeUganda

Urgent! 🚨 Following the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring eastern DRC and the confirmed imported Ebola cases reported in Uganda, the @UKPC_UG is urging key populations, community structures, service providers, peer educators, DICs, shelters, CSOs, and partners to remain calm, vigilant, and informed. We also commend the Ministry of Health and frontline health workers for their continued vigilance, rapid response efforts, and public health coordination during this period. Early reporting, community cooperation, and access to verified information are critical in protecting communities and preventing further spread. Fear, stigma, rumours, and misinformation only make public health responses more difficult. Please read and widely share the UKPC Community Health Advisory with your networks and communities: ugandakpc.org/reports/ukpc-c… Stay calm. Stay vigilant. Report early. Protect the community. For suspected cases: Toll-Free: 0800-100-066 Free SMS: 6767

Today, I joined @Winnie_Byanyima, ED of @UNAIDS Member States, and civil society leaders at the Interactive Multi-Stakeholder Hearing ahead of the 2026 High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS. My message: the HIV response cannot succeed while the most affected communities are pushed furthest from protection, services, resources, and power. /1 #HLM2026 #EndAIDS

Last week, Uganda officially began rolling out Lenacapavir countrywide. As someone who has spent years advocating for equitable HIV prevention for key populations, I want to be honest about why this moment matters, and why we cannot afford to get the rollout wrong. This drug is remarkable. Two injections a year. No daily pill. No hiding medication. And the clinical trial that proved it works was conducted right here in Uganda, with Ugandan communities at the centre of that science. But 19,200 doses cover fewer than 10,000 people. Uganda records 1,000 new HIV infections every week. The drug has arrived. The equity question has not been answered yet. Key populations, including sex workers, MSM, transgender persons, and people who use drugs, bear a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections in this country. They must be explicitly included in distribution planning. Not as an afterthought. As a priority. If you are HIV-negative and at risk, go to your nearest health facility and ask for Lenacapavir. You have the right to ask. You have the right to be protected. This is our science. This is #OurShot.

Today on #IDAHOBIT2025, we reaffirm a truth that should never be up for debate: every person deserves dignity, safety, and freedom, regardless of who they are or whom they love. In these times of heightened discrimination and fear, I stand in unwavering solidarity with the 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ community across Uganda and beyond. We will not be erased. We will not be silenced. We will keep resisting, loving, and living boldly.