Advocates At ICASA Conference Address Sexual Minorities, Funding Shortfalls In Africa
Article Date: 09 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132259.phpGay, lesbian and transgender advocates took "center stage" on Thursday at the 15th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa -- which ended on Sunday in Dakar, Senegal -- AFP/Africasia.com reports. It was the first time that an ICASA conference focused on issues specific to sexual minorities on the continent, AFP/Africasia.com reports. Joel Nana -- program associate for Southern and West Africa at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission -- said, "Homophobia fuels the spread of AIDS. In Africa, mainstream HIV/AIDS and human rights organizations do not want to address the issue mainly because homosexuality is still illegal in most countries." AFP/Africasia.com reports that 38 out of 53 countries in Africa have criminalized consensual same-sex relations. In addition, identifying people as "gay or lesbian is very sensitive," and many nongovernmental organizations at ICASA "prefer to speak about men who have sex with men or women who have sex with women."
