KAMPALA: The HIV/AIDS care centre in Kampala, Uganda, is almost empty, days after the government made one of the most draconian anti-gay laws.
The staff said that the usual daily influx of nearly 50 patients has all but dried up. Antiretroviral medicines pile up unused.
According to Reuters, the resident medical officer at the US-funded clinic Andrew Tendo warned that HIV infections’ new waves were coming forth even as vulnerable individuals stayed away from care centers, afraid of being identified and apprehended under the new laws.
He said that the LGBT people in the country are on lockdown now. They do not have preventive services and cannot access antiretrovirals and condoms.
Law provides for capital punishment
Under the text, which President Yoweri Museveni inked into law last week, gay sex is punishable by life sentence, while aggravated homosexuality, which includes HIV transmission is carrying a punishment of death.
Until the current year, the Kampala clinic had been a ray of success in the fight against HIV in the country, where about 1.4 million people live with the virus and 17,000 people die a year as a result of this disease, according to the data of the state-run Uganda AIDS Commission.
Uganda’s health minister refuted a suggestion from a US official that the legislation would reverse the country’s gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He said last week that it would be ensured that prevention programs remain accessible to those who are in need.
