Tanzania suspends some
HIV programs for gay men, says health minister
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[November 01, 2016]
DAR ES SALAAM (Thomson Reuters
Foundation) - Tanzania has suspended community-based HIV/AIDS prevention
programs for gay men, the health minister said on Monday, in the latest
crackdown on the high-risk group.
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Ummy Mwalimu, Tanzania's minister for health said the government had
received reports that some local non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) were promoting and normalizing same-sex relationships as part
of their HIV programs.
Gay sex is illegal in Tanzania and punishable by up to 30 years in
prison.
In September, the government threatened to ban groups that "promote"
the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people
in its first public statement against the minority group.
"We have suspended MSM (men who have sex with men) community-based
interventions pending (a) review," Mwalimu told the Thomson Reuters
Foundation.
The minister, however, said the government would continue to provide
HIV/AIDS services to adolescent girls, drug users and other groups.
The East African country has a reputation for being more tolerant
towards LGBT people than its neighbor Uganda but recent comments
attacking the group have sparked fears and condemnation from
activists.
There are 1.4 million people living with HIV in Tanzania, some 5
percent of the country's population, according to government
statistics.
HIV prevalence among gay men is higher at 25 percent.
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John Kashika, of Community Health Education Services & Advocacy NGO,
said suspending HIV/AIDS programs for some LGBT groups was a blow in
the fight against the virus.
"This is essentially denial of services to people who are at the
highest risk of contracting HIV, there's going to be a lot of
implications," he said.
(Reporting by Kizito Makoye; Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit
the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson
Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking,
corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
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