Kenya is to launch a nationwide survey to establish the number of gay men in the country, despite homosexuality being against the law.
In a move described as a first for Africa, the National Aids/STD Control Programme (Nascop) said it would begin the six-month research in December in an effort to help stop the spread of HIV.
Under the Kenyan penal code, a relic of British colonial rule, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail. Gay and lesbian organisations have long complained that the law and widespread homophobia makes access to HIV treatment and prevention services difficult.
Nicholas Muraguri, director of Nascop, said the results of the study would facilitate targeted interventions, such as condom distribution, information on safe sexual practices and voluntary HIV testing. ”We cannot continue excluding this group identified as a key driver to new HIV/Aids infections,” Muraguri told the Standard newspaper in Nairobi.
Given the laws and the stigma attached to homosexuality — the recent marriage of two Kenyan men in the UK has led to unflattering coverage and threats to their families — the study’s results are unlikely to be very accurate. Nascop has promised confidentiality to respondents.
The Kenyan Treatment Access Movement, which estimates that about 290 000 of the more than 600 000 people who require antiretroviral drugs are currently receiving them, said any move that helped people access HIV treatment was positive. But it questioned the government’s sincerity because the harsh laws against homosexuality were still in place. – guardian.co.uk