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Kampala — Eighteen months after slamming activists who opened a clinic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Kampala, Uganda’s health ministry has decided it was a good idea after all and has begun setting up similar facilities, prompting outrage from the Ministry for Ethics and Integrity and scepticism from some in civil society.
Alex Ario, the acting programme manager of the Ministry of Health’s AIDS Control Programme (ACP), says they are rolling out four specialized clinics for the most at-risk populations (MARPs) in four division of Kampala and several others in major HIV/AIDS hot spots in upcountry towns.
The clinics will target men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) with health services including HIV testing, counselling and treatment, and screening for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“The clinics will not only be MSM clinics but MARPs clinics, though the focus will be on those MARPs that are most stigmatized, discriminated against and most likely to miss out on intervention services,” Ario told IRIN.
The initiative follows the success of a MARPs STD unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital, which has enrolled some 500 clients for comprehensive HIV treatment.
Turnaround
Gay rights activists opened Uganda’s first clinic for LGBTI people in the capital, Kampala, in May 2012 – an act fiercely criticized by the government.
Despite the high prevalence of HIV among MSM and FSW – 13.7 percent and 33 percent respectively, according to the 2008-2009 Crane Survey of high-risk groups in Uganda – the government has not included these groups in its national strategy to fight HIV because homosexual activity and prostitution are illegal.
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