A campaign against gay men and women in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and other Eastern African nations have recently been started outlawing same-sex relationships and have been threatened of years of imprisonment. In a move that has alarmed health workers, Tanzania is found to have been turning its anti-homosexual violence in a new direction which targets HIV/AIDS programs that have helped tame the disease that once severely damaged the region.
Discrimination On Gay Men And Women
According to Napa Valley Register, it was found that just last month, the minister of health has allegedly announced that Tanzania will ban HIV/AIDS outreach projects aimed at gay men, pending a review. Consequently, the move has forced the temporary closure of U.S.-funded programs that provide testing, condoms and medical care to gays. Current data shows that about 30 percent of gay men in Tanzania are HIV-positive, thus, health workers claim that this figure will rise in no time.
This plan of action that the Tanzanian authorities have made was said to be the first time in history that a country has suspended major parts of the United States' hugely successful foreign HIV/AIDS initiative in an attempt to crack down on the gay community. It was found that the US PEPFAR campaign has been backed by $65 billion since it was founded in 2003 and has been credited with saving millions of lives.
On the other hand, it was known that the PEPFAR, or the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was initiated by George W. Bush with bipartisan support, has become one of the most important U.S. assistance programs ever in Africa.
As per Chicago Tribune, it was found that the ban has happened after months of hate speeches and threats from Tanzanian officials aimed at the gay community and at organizations treating its HIV/AIDS patients.
Furthermore, the U.N. Free & Equal campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights has found that homosexuality is already perceived as a criminal act in at least 76 countries, and at least 33 of them are in Africa. With the things that are happening now, can this unjust treatment cause a much bigger problem in the future or could this actually be the final resort?
