Seeking LGBT access to health care in Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica
A Kenyan advocacy group and a Jamaican official are pleading for improved health care for LGBT citizens, while a Nigerian organization has launched a program to make access to medical care easier for LGBT people to obtain.
Items the latest edition of the UNAIDS Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI news, slightly edited here:
In Nigeria, where homosexuality is criminalized and can lead to a lengthy prison sentence, the Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS) launched Quickcare, a mobile app that links LGBT people to health services, provides basic safe sex information, and suggests LGBT-friendly facilities in the country.
In Kenya, the National Commission on Human Rights advocacy group warned that discrimination against sex workers, trans people, prisoners, and gay people is impacting the spread of HIV in East and Southern Africa by discouraging them from seeking health services.
Delroy Chuck, Jamaica’s Minister of Justice, called on Parliamentarians to “act as advocates for people affected by HIV” and called on people to “rethink some of the beliefs” that lead key populations, including men who have sex with men, to suffer isolation, stigma, and discrimination.
Related articles:
- Minister of Justice, Jamaica, Calls on Parliamentarians to be Advocates for ending AIDS (May 2017, St. Lucia Times)
- LGBT Nigerians Can Now Get Help Using A Simple Mobile Application (May-June 2017, Konbini.com)
- Stigma against homosexuals, sex workers main cause of HIV prevalence – rights groups (May 2017, The Star, Kenya)
Good for Mr. Chuck, but let’s hope we get more than just talk from Jamaica this time.