First LGBT Health Clinic Opens in Uganda
Uganda’s first LGBT clinic has opened in Kampala to provide free health care services and treatment for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, Mask.org reports. Ice Breakers Uganda, a group that lobbies for gay rights and welfare, has opened the clinic because of rising new HIV rates within the country’s LGBT community. All government-run initiatives to treat and support those living with HIV exclude homosexuals from access to care. As a result, many LGBT Ugandans fear going to a hospital because they have to contend with stigma, unprofessional health care workers and a lack of confidentiality. Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which reached Parliament and was eventually tabled in 2009, would have required health care workers to report their homosexual clients to the police. The bill received much attention in the press, and many people mistakenly believe it is law.
