Africa: Homophobia fuelling the spread of HIV

The persistent and increasing outbreaks of violence against members of the gay community in Africa are jeopardising efforts undertaken to combat HIV, both within this group and across the population as a whole, AIDS activists warned at a recent meeting in Limbé, Cameroon.

LIMBÉ, 23 July 2008 (IRIN) - The extreme vulnerability of members of the gay community to HIV on the continent was highlighted during the meeting, initiated by the French non-governmental organisation, AIDES, and its partners, which took place at the beginning of July in the south west of Cameroon and brought together many AIDS activists from Francophone African countries.

On average it is estimated that HIV infection rates amongst MSM (men who have sex with men) are four to five times higher than the population overall, with highs in certain areas.

In Bamako, the capital of Mali, screening tests carried out on a few hundred MSMs revealed that the infection rate was around 37 per cent, according to ARCAD-SIDA, an organisation in Mali that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. Official statistics set the national infection rate of the population at 1.3 per cent.

In Senegal, a survey carried out in 2005 showed that 21.5 per cent of MSMs in the capital, Dakar, were infected with HIV, compared to a national prevalence rate estimated by the authorities at 0.7 per cent.

The 2007 “Off the map” report, which was produced by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), an American organisation that defends the rights of homosexuals, highlighted that “the vulnerability of same-sex practicing men and women is not due to any biological predisposition, but is the result of an interlocking set of human rights violations and social inequalities that heighten HIV risk”.

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