EACS: Anti-homosexuality law in Uganda and other countries – Statement

1 June 2023

We at the European AIDS clinical Society are sad to learn that President Yoweri Museveni has signed Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill into law.

This is among one of the harshest anti-LGBTIQA+ laws in the world, further marginalising a key population that is in need of care and support and driving them away from vital healthcare needs.

Uganda has a high burden of people living with HIV and has made great progress towards achieving the UNAIDS target for eliminating HIV as a global threat by 2030. Unfortunately, marginalising a key population will have a huge negative impact on this response. Indeed, this law will have a detrimental impact on testing, may act as a barrier to some people with HIV to receive appropriate care and treatment and this may increase rates of HIV transmission in Uganda.

We stand together with our colleagues at the IAS and the Global Fund/UNAIDS/PEPFAR and call on President Museveni and the Uganda Government to repeal this law.  A punitive law that drives away sections of the community from receiving care is detrimental to Public Health and will jeopardise the positive progress made in Uganda in reducing the personal and societal burden of disease caused by HIV.

We also urge all other countries that criminalise homosexuality to reconsider their laws.  In order to have a world ‘free of AIDS’ and meet the ambitious UNAIDS targets for 2030, we need to engage all members of our society in prevention and healthcare programmes.

This statement is endorsed by:

EuroTEST

European AIDS Treatment Group

(Last update: 5 June 2023)