HIV News Around The Globe

IAS – the International AIDS Society – is deeply concerned at the passing of a bill that criminalizes same-sex relationships in Ghana, the latest in an upsurge of anti-gay political acts in Africa.

Ghana’s Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill on 28 February 2024. It criminalizes LGBTQ relationships, as well as people who support LGBTQ rights.

Namibia’s lower house of Parliament recently passed a bill that bans same-sex marriages. And in Kenya, a bill before Parliament seeks to ban gay relationships, same-sex unions and LGBTQ activities and campaigns. In all instances, the bills propose harsh prison sentences and hefty fines.

“If these bills become laws, they will set back the substantial gains made towards ending the HIV pandemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being,” IAS President Sharon Lewin said. “This is the time for governments to be stepping up efforts to advance the HIV response, not push our efforts backwards. There is an urgent need for the governments of these countries to work with, not against, communities most vulnerable to HIV.”

In Africa, 33 of 55 countries punish gay relationships with imprisonment. In 2023 alone, six countries (Kenya, Ghana, Namibia, Niger, Tanzania and Uganda) took steps to tighten anti-gay laws, the largest number of countries pushing for these laws in recent years.

Read more on this report and it’s findings here.

Moreover, the Uganda court upholds that registering LGBTQ groups is illegal. This leaves organizations such as Dr. Frank Mugishia’s Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and any other LGBTQIA illegal and at risk. Watch more of this report here.

A Ugandan appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that prevented an LGBTQ rights group from legally registering in the country.

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau in 2012 refused to legally recognize Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Uganda High Court upheld the decision in 2018, and SMUG appealed it to the country’s Registrar Court of Appeal.

"The LGBTQ community views this ruling as a missed opportunity to address the suppression of their freedom of association, instead focusing on perceived societal norms,” said SMUG in a press release. “It underscores a recurring trend in Ugandan courts, wherein rights of LGBTQ persons are marginalized, further widening the gap between legal protections and lived realities and experiences.”

For more info regarding this story, read here and watch here.

Under the Tree- March Edition

We're excited to announce the upcoming session of Under the Tree, WACI Health's youth leadership and advocay programme aimed at bolstering youth leadership in Global Health.

Our monthly forum is scheduled for March 28th, 2024 (3PM SAST/ 4PM EAT/ 4PM WAT) and the theme is "Empowering Youth Leadership in Global Health".

Register your attendance here