Does climate change affect HIV drugs and patient safety in Uganda?

2 March 2026, 1:24 pm

By Byamukama Alozious

Climate change is increasingly shaping the realities of HIV treatment in Uganda, where erratic weather patterns are disrupting food systems, transport networks, and health services. With over 1.5 million people living with HIV, according to the UNAIDS, activists say the country must urgently examine how climate shocks are affecting access to antiretroviral therapy (ARVs).

In a 2021 study published in AIDS and Behavior by Dr. M. Lieber and colleagues found that climate change worsens HIV outcomes through food insecurity, infectious diseases, migration, and damage to health infrastructure. These pathways are increasingly visible in Uganda.

Raymond Kwesiga of Enliven Initiatives Uganda says rising temperatures and changing weather patterns raise practical concerns about medication safety and effectiveness.

 “If I go from Kampala to Arua and the weather changes, doesn’t it affect my medication?” Kwesiga asks. “Do I need to take another pill to match metabolism?”

His concern reflects a broader question about how heat exposure during transport and storage might affect ARVs before they reach patients. While Uganda’s National Medical Stores (NMS) operates temperature-monitored warehouses, drugs often travel long distances to rural clinics where electricity and cooling systems are unreliable.

Canon Gideon Byamugisha, board member at  Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET), believes more Uganda-specific research is urgently needed.

“When medication is manufactured in winter and reaches us in summer or arrives in countries without those seasons does that raise a need for research?” he asks.

Beyond storage, climate change is deepening food insecurity. Droughts in regions like Karamoja and floods in western Uganda have reduced harvests, making it harder for people living with HIV to maintain proper nutrition. Health workers note that taking ARVs without adequate food can cause side effects and weaken adherence. Some patients skip doses when they cannot eat properly.

Floods and damaged roads also prevent patients from reaching clinics, sometimes for weeks. Displacement due to extreme weather disrupts continuity of care, particularly for those who move without formal transfer of medical records.

Global actors such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have acknowledged climate change as a growing threat to HIV programs. However, Ugandan advocates argue that local evidence, community education, and stronger rural health infrastructure are critical.