Uganda Makes "Intentional Transmission" Of HIV A Crime

Uganda has made it a crime to "wilfully and intentionally" transmit the HIV virus and made it legal for medical staff to disclose a patient’s HIV status to others without his or her consent. The law was passed on Tuesday, a parliamentary spokeswoman said, in response to a resurgence in HIV infections in a country that was once hailed as a success in the global fight against AIDS. Those convicted face up 10 years in prison.

But rights activists said the law would deter voluntary testing and further stigmatize infection with HIV, which causes AIDS and is primarily transmitted through unprotected intercourse as well as from mother to child during pregnancy. "Evidence from the Ugandan Ministry of Health shows clearly - criminalization of HIV doesn't work," said Asia Russell, Uganda-based director of international policy at Health GAP, an HIV advocacy group...