David GOMBE
The 2026 Kabaka Birthday Run reached an exhilarating climax on Sunday, April 12, at Kabaka’s Palace, with gaming company Betika rising as a key contributor to this yr’s impactful advertising marketing campaign in opposition to HIV/AIDS.
For over a decade, the Buganda Kingdom has reworked the Kabaka’s birthday into a powerful nationwide identify to movement.
Now in its thirteenth model, the run—held beneath the theme “Males In direction of HIV/AIDS to Save the Girl Toddler”—continues to face as Uganda’s most influential annual mobilisation in opposition to the epidemic.
This yr’s event attracted higher than 140,000 runners from all through the nation, a excellent growth from merely 1,000 members at its inception.
On the coronary coronary heart of this momentum was Betika’s deliberate and structured contribution, underscoring its dedication to neighborhood funding previous its core enterprise.
As part of its engagement, Betika made an enormous sponsorship contribution, with the full amount directed within the route of HIV/AIDS consciousness, testing, and prevention initiatives nationwide.
Complementing this financial help, over 75 members of Betika workers actively participated throughout the run, collectively contributing to an whole affect valued at higher than UGX 10 million.
“HIV/AIDS has touched every neighborhood in Uganda. The Kabaka Birthday Run stays a number of the impactful platforms for consciousness, prevention, and movement.
Betika is proud to face alongside Ugandans in advancing Kabaka’s imaginative and prescient for a extra wholesome nation. Our dedication goes previous leisure—we’re proper right here to help the causes that actually matter.
The Kabaka Birthday Run is larger than a race; it’s a nationwide platform for public effectively being movement, a celebration of Buganda’s cultural identification, and a unifying second for Ugandans,” a Betika guide well-known.
The funds realised from the run proceed to immediately help HIV/AIDS programmes all through the nation, contributing to measurable nationwide progress.
In response to UNAIDS, HIV prevalence amongst adults aged 15 to 49 declined from 7.3% in 2010 to 4.9% in 2024. New infections have dropped by 61%, from 96,000 to 37,000, whereas infections amongst youthful people aged 15–24 have lowered by 57%.
AIDS-related deaths have declined by 63%, with over 1.3 million Ugandans now accessing antiretroviral treatment.
No matter these helpful properties, the 2030 objective of eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public effectively being menace requires sustained and collective movement—an effort to which Betika continues to align itself.
The company’s involvement throughout the Kabaka Birthday Run shows a broader strategy of leveraging partnerships and community-driven initiatives to ship tangible, long-term affect.
Via the years, the run has carried out a pivotal place in driving HIV testing, promoting protected male circumcision, encouraging fixed condom use, and strengthening treatment adherence.
These interventions have propelled Uganda nearer to the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, with 94% of people residing with HIV aware of their standing, 90% on treatment, and 97% reaching viral suppression.
By the use of its continued help, Betika has positioned itself on the forefront of firm entities championing public effectively being causes—demonstrating that vital funding in communities can translate into precise, measurable change.
