Community leaders in Soroti city, eastern Uganda, have expressed concern over reports that secondary schoolgirls are engaging in commercial sex for amounts as low as Shs1,000, warning that the practice is worsening the region’s already severe HIV/Aids burden.
New figures from the 2024 Uganda Aids Commission indicate that Soroti’s HIV prevalence has reached 12.5%, the second-highest in the country after Fort Portal at 13.5%. The rate is more than double the national average of 5.1%.
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Speaking during the annual general meeting of Soroti Secondary School on Saturday, Sheikh Obilan Abubakar Umar, the Regional Assistant Mufti for Teso–Karamoja, said authorities had identified around 120 locations in the city linked to commercial sex activities. Some of these areas, he noted, involve schoolgirls reportedly selling sex for between Shs1,000 and Shs2,000.
“This is extremely harmful to our cultural values, our faith, and the wellbeing of the Teso sub-region and the country,” he said.
The cleric also criticised parents who arrange marriages for underage daughters, thereby cutting short their education.
“There is a case of a Muslim parent with a Senior Two girl who is allegedly seeking a man to marry her. Such practices must be reported and dealt with according to the law,” he warned.
Sheikh Obilan urged communities to be more alert to the exploitation of young girls—whether through commercial sex or early marriage—and condemned parents who view their daughters as a source of income.
He noted that some families send girls to school without providing essential support, pushing them into risky survival behaviours that undermine both cultural and religious principles. The continued neglect of children’s emotional and psychological needs, he added, fuels trauma and long-term instability.
“Uganda is headed for trouble if we raise future parents who grow up without proper guidance,” he said, describing the phenomenon as “parental absenteeism”.
Beyond HIV/Aids, the Mufti highlighted other serious health challenges affecting the Teso sub-region, including rising cases of cervical cancer and sickle-cell disease. Teso currently has the second-highest sickle-cell prevalence in Uganda, after Lango.
“The rate of sickle-cell disease is increasing rapidly in Teso. We must confront this issue collectively,” he said.
The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council regional office, he added, is leading campaigns involving mass testing, counselling and encouraging premarital screening. Sheikh Obilan urged parents to undergo testing and advised that schoolgirls also be screened to determine their sickle-cell status.
He revealed that plans are underway to establish a specialised sickle-cell clinic in Soroti city.
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