2023-10-10 07:34:08
A Ugandan gay man packs his bags to leave Kampala on May 30, 2023, following President Yoweri Museveni enacted draconian new measures once morest homosexuality. – / AFP
The aisles of a clinic for HIV patients on the outskirts of Kampala are almost deserted. But staff are keeping an eye on CCTV footage, looking for suspicious individuals, reflecting fear among health workers following Uganda passed one of the most repressive laws criminalizing homosexuality.
“People need to trust their healthcare workers, healthcare workers need to trust their patients, but in the current circumstances it has created a situation where everyone is afraid of each other”, underlines Brian, the founder of the clinic, who preferred to withhold his last name, citing security concerns. During the three hours AFP spent in the clinic, not a single patient came in – a sign of the law’s impact on HIV efforts, Brian says.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since 1986, promulgated a text in May providing for heavy penalties for people having homosexual relations. This law sparked a wave of indignation from human rights organizations and many Western countries. It also made patients and health workers fear being reported to the police, anyone found guilty of a wave « promotion » of homosexuality risking up to twenty years in prison. A ten-year ban on activities is also provided for organizations found guilty of encouraging homosexual activities.
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When the law came before Parliament, the debates were peppered with homophobic insults. “We have received numerous calls from former patients asking us to remove them from our systems”, laments Brian. And since then, attendance at the clinic has continued to fall. About 35% of people accessing HIV prevention services no longer go to his facility, while 10% of those who needed antiretrovirals have also stopped all contact, he explains.
“We lost three employees who said they might not work in such a climate for their own safety, their careers and their families”, thereby reducing the workforce by more than a quarter, adds Brian. And some patients who stop taking treatment see their viral load increase, which increases the risk of transmitting AIDS. The health ministry has ordered health centers to ensure that no one is discriminated once morest or denied medical services. But this has failed to reassure those working on the ground.
“Paranoia”
“We saw people being arrested for possession of lubricant or condoms”, says Richard Lusimbo, executive director of the Uganda Key Populations Consortium, a human rights association. During parliamentary debates in March, police arrested six men in Jinja, in the east of the country, following finding in their possession 192 tubes of lubricant, a rainbow flag and brochures on the LGBT+ community . They spent more than three months in prison before being released on bail and being prosecuted in particular for “recruitment of adult males for homosexual acts”.
This new law created “a lot of fear and paranoia”argues Richard Lusimbo: “If nothing is done to reverse it, we are going to see an increase in infections. » UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have notably warned that Uganda’s progress in the fight once morest AIDS is “severely threatened” by this new legislation. But the director general of Uganda’s health services, Henry Mwebesa, assures AFP that the country is “on track to end AIDS as a public health challenge by 2030”. “Contrary to some exaggerated claims, services are provided without discrimination”he maintains.
Read also: Mauritius decriminalizes sexual relations between homosexuals
On the third floor of the clinic, Brian and his team are looking for ways to treat patients without putting them in danger. “We opened a WhatsApp line” in order to be able to reach customers directly, he said, also mentioning the use of telemedicine. The packages are not labeled to avoid any risk of identification and targeting of recipients. But these measures are not enough to appease Brian and his colleagues. “When we come to work, we expect the worst”he confides.
Even if the law is repealed, the damage is done, according to Brian, who says Ugandans “became radicalized” and that the legislation has “reinforced homophobia”. “It will take us many years to repair the damage. It will take a long time to rebuild trust. »
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