Tanzania Bans HIV/AIDS Outreach Programs In Latest Crackdown On LGBT Community

by Michael Fitzgerald

November 28, 2016 

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Lawmakers in Tanzania are banning HIV/AIDS outreach programs that target the LGBT community.

 

The latest move comes just months after the country’s Justice Minister Harrison Mwakyembe (above) announced a move to eradicate pro-LGBT charities in order to protect the “culture of Tanzanians.” In July, Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu (right) announced a ban on the sale of lube because it “encourages homosexuality.”

The Guardian reported in August:

“The sudden crackdown has come as a surprise in a country that has until recently been tolerant of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Unlike in neighbouring Uganda – where pride events were disrupted by the police last week – Kenya and Zimbabwe, gay Tanzanians have not experienced the same levels of violence and discrimination, and politicians have until now generally ignored the topic.”

RELATED: Tanzanian MP To Submit Bill Outlawing ‘Gay Recruitment’

According to the Daily News:

“Tanzania, which had been making progress in eradicating the HIV virus that once was rampant in the region, shut down some U.S.-funded prevention programs.

“Those programs helped provide medical care to those with HIV/AIDS, handed out condoms and provided testing to those who wanted to know their condition.”

@stephen_abbott @PEPFAR That screen cap is unreadable without explanation

— NoBigGovDuh (@NoBigGovDuh) November 28, 2016

The Washington Post notes that the ban marks “the first time that a country has suspended parts of the United States’ hugely successful foreign HIV/AIDS initiative in an attempt to crack down on the gay community.”

Watch Duke Global Health Institute’s Dr. Dorothy Dow discuss HIV/AIDS stigma in Tanzania below.

Read more articles from Towleroad, here.