{"id":35410,"date":"2018-12-12T09:32:51","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T09:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/?p=35410"},"modified":"2020-07-25T14:12:06","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T14:12:06","slug":"ias-condemns-tanzanias-anti-gay-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/35410","title":{"rendered":"IAS condemns Tanzania\u2019s anti-gay initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

IAS press release<\/strong><\/p>\n

On behalf of the International AIDS Society (IAS), the IAS Governing Council Africa Regional Representatives, express our grave concern regarding the reported anti-gay initiative underway in Tanzania.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 31 October 2018, the Regional Commissioner for the capital city, Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, announced the creation of a task force to identify and arrest people suspected of being gay and he appealed to the public to identify and report them. This follows a broader pattern of arrests and state-sponsored harassment of LGBT Tanzanians that includes the\u00a0forced closure<\/a>\u00a0of HIV clinics accused of promoting homosexuality. In the wake of this announcement, 10 people were unjustly arrested in Zanzibar on spurious charges.<\/p>\n

These actions are contrary to Tanzania\u2019s stated commitment to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. In its National Guideline for Comprehensive Package of HIV Interventions for Key Populations from 2014, the government declares: \u201cTo ensure an effective and sustainable response to HIV there is a need to reach out to KPs (key populations) with a comprehensive package of prevention, treatment, care, support interventions and other public health services.\u201d It goes on to acknowledge: \u201cPublic discussion of MSM elicits strong reactions of fear, hatred and disgust. MSM and transgender people have remained largely invisible to many of the ongoing interventions for HIV prevention, treatment and care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key populations are particularly at risk of HIV infection. While national prevalence among adults in Tanzania is 4.5%,\u00a017.6%<\/a>\u00a0of the country\u2019s men who have sex with men are living with HIV.<\/p>\n

Homophobia, \u201cthe irrational hatred, intolerance, and fear\u201d of LGBT people, has been identified as a\u00a0major barrier to ending AIDS<\/a> according to the World Health Organization. Institutionalised discrimination, such as the public scapegoating now occurring in Tanzania, drives many people away from the services that can save their lives. The climate of fear created by such stigmatising official actions undermines the ability of HIV programmes to reach those in greatest need. Barring vulnerable communities from specialised services that play a critical role in linking them to essential HIV services leaves them with few options for accessing lifesaving medications and information.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know from experience that Tanzania has the means to translate international public health recommendations into concrete actions and results. The country has made some important gains in its response to HIV, with new infections dropping by\u00a022% from 2010 to 2016<\/a>\u00a0and AIDS-related deaths dropping by 54%. Indeed, its national guidelines \u2013 based on the principle that \u201cservices and programmes implemented are non-stigmatizing, non-discriminatory, accessible, acceptable, affordable and equitable for all\u201d and that \u201cthe legal, policy, and social environment [should] allow access by KP to available health services\u201d \u2013 exemplify this capacity. The epidemic among key populations including gay men and other men who have sex with men, however, continues unabated.<\/p>\n

Now is the time for Tanzania\u2019s government to take seriously its human rights-related responsibilities as stewards of the public health. As colleagues in the global HIV response, we call on Tanzania to end this initiative that threatens to hobble the national HIV response at a moment of such promise. We plead that our colleagues in Tanzania heed their own government\u2019s advice \u2013 stated so clearly in its national guidelines \u2013 and commit to providing equitable, unobstructed access to high-quality, non-stigmatising prevention, treatment and care services to all communities, including gay and other men who have sex with men.<\/p>\n

Reference<\/p>\n

IAS press statement. IAS condemns Tanzania\u2019s anti-gay initiatives. (8 November 2018)
\nhttps:\/\/www.iasociety.org\/The-latest\/News\/ArticleID\/209\/Condemning-Tanzania\u2019s-anti-gay-initiatives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IAS press release On behalf of the International AIDS Society (IAS), the IAS Governing Council Africa Regional Representatives, express our grave concern regarding the reported anti-gay initiative underway in Tanzania. On 31 October 2018, the Regional Commissioner for the capital …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35410\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}