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Protestors standing up for gay rights in Uganda
The bill, submitted last October, proposes the death penalty for some “homosexual acts”, while other acts incur a steep penalties up to life imprisonment.
In an open letter to the Parliament of Uganda, the society’s president Dr Francois Venter, said its 16 000 members were gravely concerned at the 2009 bill.
“Our concern regarding the Anti-Homosexuality Bill stems from the fact that it proposes draconian measures which will further criminalize same-sex relations between consenting adults.
“We are particularly concerned that the Bill proposes the introduction of the death penalty for, inter alia, people living with HIV who engage in same-sex sexual activities.”
“Encouraging openness and combating stigma are widely recognized as key components of Uganda’s successful campaign to reduce HIV infection,” said Venter, warning that the bill threatened to have a “profoundly negative impact on Uganda’s efforts to combat HIV”.
Addressed to the speaker of Parliament and CC’d to President Yowera Kaguta Museveni, the letter called on all MPs “committed to public health and human rights” to stop the bill being passed in any form.
Meanwhile AFP reported today that Ugandan Investment Minister, Aston Kajara, opposed the bill and said the country had enough legislation against homosexuality.
“The government’s position is that the existing provisions in our penal code against homosexuality are strong enough and that this new bill is not necessary,” Kajara told AFP.
But the Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said Kajara was not representing the government. AFP reports that Buturo is “a staunch supporter of the bill”.
The death penalty could be imposed for “aggravated homosexuality” – applicable in cases of rape of a minor by a person of the same sex, or where one partner is HIV positive, AFP stated.
A new Ugandan study offers great hope for people with AIDS in rural areas in Africa needing antiretroviral treatment.
The trial tested a model in which lay-trained counsellors, not doctors or nurses, treated people at home – and they were as healthy as the patients being treated in clinics.
The cluster randomised trial took place in 44 areas in Jinja, Uganda.
The results, published in the Lancet journal online this week, suggested: “This home-based HIV-care strategy is as effective as is a clinic-based strategy.
“(This) could enable improved and equitable access to HIV treatment, especially in areas with poor infrastructure and access to clinic care.”
The researchers found after two and a half years that:
*Home-based ART by trained lay workers achieved equal health gains;
*Reduced mortality, hospital admission and viral supression were used to measure health gains;
*Patient costs were cut by half or more in the home-based care;
*Home-based care cost the health service slightly less.
Supporting the model, an editorial in Lancet stated: “This result provides compelling evidence for rolling out home-based ART to complement facility-based delivery and facilitate access.
“(This is true) especially in rural settings with weak health systems, shortage of clinical staff , and poor patients for whom transport cost and lost work-time provide obstacles to treatment initiation and adherence.”
The results are exciting but Uganda has one huge advantage over South Africa. Stigma around HIV/AID is far less prevalent and people are much more open about having the virus.
