Africa bears “more than 24% of the global burden of disease, but has access to only 3% of health workers and less than 1% of the world’s financial resources,” accord- ing to WHO. The poor state of health systems in many African countries is another red flag to medical professionals.
owever, staff keep an eye on CCTV footage for suspicious individuals, reflecting the fear of health workers after Uganda passed one of its most repressive laws criminalising homosexuality.
“People need to trust their health workers, health workers need to trust their patients, but in the current circumstances, this has created a situation where everyone is afraid of each other,” says Brian, the clinic’s founder.
During the three hours AFP spent in the clinic, no patients entered – a sign of the effects of the law on efforts to combat HIV in this East African country, according to Brian, who preferred not to give his surname, citing security concerns.
Last May, President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since 1986, signed into law one of the most repressive laws in the world, imposing severe penalties on people who have homosexual relations.
The law provoked a wave of indignation from human rights organisations and many Western countries. It has also raised fears among patients and health workers that they will be reported to the police, with anyone found guilty of vaguely ‘promoting’ homosexuality facing up to 20 years in prison. There is also a ten-year ban on organisations found guilty of promoting homosexual activities.
When the law arrived in Parliament, the debates were peppered with homophobic insults. “We received many calls from people (former patients, editor’s note) asking us to remove them from our systems”, Brian laments.
Since then, attendance at the clinic has fallen steadily.
Around 35% of people who have access to HIV prevention services no longer go to his clinic, while 10% of those who needed antiretrovirals have also stopped all contact, he explains.”We lost three employees who said they couldn’t work in such a climate for their own safety, careers and families”, reducing the workforce by more than a quarter, adds Brian.
And some patients who stop taking treatment have their viral load increase, which increases the risk of transmitting AIDS.
