Meet the activist running a shelter in Uganda for people living with HIV
Muwonge Gerald discusses the challenges facing his shelter in Uganda after the introduction of the country’s extreme Anti-Homosexuality Act.
WORDS BY CONOR CLARK HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN Uganda sparked global outrage last year with the introduction of its Anti-Homosexuality Act, which has forced the country’s LGBTQIA+ community to adjust to a new – and much darker – normal.
The legislation has been recognised as one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQIA+ laws and imposes the death penalty for so-called “aggravated” cases of homosexuality, including the transmission of HIV.
Uganda has been making steady progress against the virus, with UNAIDS reporting a 39 per cent drop in new infections from 2010 to 2021, but there are now fears that the gains made could be lost because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
