KAMPALA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The HIV prevalence is highest among the rich and educated Ugandans, a Ministry of Health report on HIV/AIDS has said.

    Wilford Kirungi, a principal investigator quoted by New Vision on Wednesday, said the prevalence varied from 4 percent among the poor to 9 percent among the wealthy.

    He said the increase occurred in both males and females, "although the infection rate was slightly higher among rich women than men."

    According to prevalence by wealth, women have the highest rate at 11 percent compared to men at 6 percent. The Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioral Survey was conducted on 10,425 households during 2004-2005.

    The HIV prevalence is highest in Kampala at 8.5 percent where education about the scourge is high, compared to rural areas like Karamoja, northeast of Uganda, with the least education at 2 percent.

    "HIV prevalence is higher in towns than villages because town social life is more tempting and many couples have fled rural areas due to wars in the last decade," it noted.

    North and central regions closely follow Kampala at 8 percent with West Nile and Northeast (Karamoja) at two and four percent respectively.

    For both women and men, HIV infection is higher among the widowed, divorced or separated than those currently in union or who have never been in union.

    The report also noted an inconsistent relationship with people who have never completed primary school, as having a low prevalence, compared to those who completed. The rate falls among those who have at least some secondary education.

    Comparing the uneducated, it indicated 8.1 percent prevalence among men and 6.6 percent among women. For both sexes infection rates rise with age.

    Uganda is one of the most successful countries in Africa to fight HIV/AIDS. It succeeded in bringing down the prevalence from over 20 percent in early 1990's to a stable six percent at present. Enditem