Uganda: U=U Gave Me My Future Back - Ugandan Activist William Matovu on Replacing HIV Fear With Hope

What the report says

AllAfrica reported on 29 July 2026 that Ugandan HIV activist William Matovu is using the U=U message — “Undetectable equals Untransmittable” — to counter fear and stigma around HIV. In an article by Melody Chironda from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Matovu described growing up in Uganda after being born with HIV, losing both parents to AIDS-related illnesses and learning his own status at age 14.

According to the report, Matovu is a founding member of the Love to Love Organization and serves as an African board member of the Prevention Access Campaign, the global movement associated with U=U. Since 2017, he has focused on peer education, advocacy and community support, especially for young people living with HIV. The article explains U=U as the evidence-based finding that people living with HIV who take treatment consistently and maintain an undetectable viral load do not sexually transmit the virus.

Matovu told AllAfrica that learning about U=U changed how he viewed his future, including marriage and parenthood. He said he is now married and that his wife and two children are HIV-negative, presenting his family experience as an example of what treatment and accurate information can make possible.

The report also highlights barriers that can prevent people from reaching or maintaining an undetectable viral load, including poverty, transport costs, medicine stock-outs, limited viral-load testing, stigma, food insecurity and mental health challenges. Matovu argued that U=U can support HIV prevention and reduce stigma, but only if paired with reliable health systems, accessible treatment, community leadership and consistent public messaging.