Uganda: Criminalizing HIV Infection?
Uganda-Criminalizing HIV Infection?.mp3
KPFA Weekend News, 08.06.2011
KPFA Weekend News Anchor Cameron Jones: Uganda’s still pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill, also known as the Hang-the-Gays Bill, has generated far more Western press than most news from Africa since its introduction in Uganda's Parliament in October 2009. Little attention has been paid, however, to another pending bill that would, in effect, criminalize HIV infection in Uganda. KPFA’s Ann Garrison has more.
KPFA/Ann Garrison: Human Rights Watch researcher Kathryn Todrys wrote, in ThinkAfrica Press, that, quote, “among other provisions, the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act would mandate up to ten years imprisonment for failing to protect oneself from HIV infection.” Today she explained further, to KPFA:
Katherine Todrys: While it certainly hasn’t gotten the attention of the proposed anti-homosexuality legislation, it has been condemned by the UN and some other organizations. The bill includes a penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment, for the crime of failing to “take reasonable steps to protect him or herself and others from HIV infection.” This provision of the bill is so broad as to potentially criminalize infection itself.
Human RIghts Watch researcher Kathryn Todrys
KPFA: Todrys said that the law could well increase rather than prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS:
Katherine Todrys: It’s possible the bill could be passed but never enforced. But it’s also possible that it would be enforced selectively or arbitrarily. A number of provisions in the bill, including the one I mentioned, are counterproductive from a public health standpoint and contrary to the human rights of Ugandans. There are provisions that allow health care providers to disclose the HIV status of their patients. If in only a few cases people start hearing that going to health centers means that you are automatically tested for HIV and that that information is not confidential, that could mean people avoid getting care. But that’s the opposite of what we want to happen; we want people to seek out voluntary HIV testing and to see health care centers as their allies, not as places that might trample on their rights and even turn them in to the police.
KPFA: Todrys also said that Uganda is the darling of international health donors, including the U.S., even though its HIV/AIDS strategies are often cruel and incoherent.
Entebbe's mayor parades with the Ugandan army to promote HIV services within the army. Photo: U.S. Department of State
Katherine Todrys: Uganda has long been thought of as a “success story” in the fight against AIDS and is a major recipient of health funding from abroad. The U.S. has poured over $1 billion into the country for AIDS programs, and it gives about $280 million for HIV activities each year. But Uganda’s program has been marked with corruption, moralistic and homophobic approaches that have stalled that success, and there is really a vacuum of leadership on AIDS in Uganda right now. The government’s approach is now notable for leaving out people at risk of infection.
The prisoners are a case in point. The rates of HIV and tuberculosis in prisons are roughly double the rates in the country as a whole, but prisoners are largely left out of treatment or prevention programs.
KPFA: Though there is almost no access to AIDS treatment in Ugandan prisons, PEPFAR, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, puts a high priority on treating soldiers in the Ugandan army, which also suffers higher infection rates than the general public. Uganda is one of the U.S.A.’s most longstanding military partners in Africa, with troops serving in both Somalia and Sudan.
Locally, San Francisco’s Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club voted this week to sponsor a film showing and forum to foster deeper understanding of U.S. policies regarding AIDS, LGBT rights and the whole range of human rights in Uganda and Africa. The date and location are yet to be set.
For Pacifica, KPFA, and AfrobeatRadio, I’m Ann Garrison.
