Sadiya Ansari

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to slash most U.S. aid funding has plunged thousands of humanitarian programmes into uncertainty - and the millions of people who rely on the projects for food, clean water, shelter and healthcare.

In Namibia, a country of 3 million people in southern Africa, the most vulnerable people who relied on U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS services may now struggle to access vital medication and other care.

Ruann moved to Walvis Bay for the same reason many other trans women are attracted to the Namibian port town: to find work. 

The city sits where the Namib desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, the only natural harbour in this southern African nation, making it a bustling hub as goods from shipping containers are offloaded into trucks setting off for Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. 

This flow of 8 million tonnes of cargo a year brings about 900 ships to the city, and with them are more potential clients for Ruann. But like many sex workers, Ruann’s job puts her life at risk.

While fewer people are using dating apps, meeting online is often the safest — sometimes only — option for LGBTQ+ people in countries where being “out” is a risk to life and limb.

In Africa, 31 countries criminalise same-sex relations and in some places, such as Uganda, punishment can run to the death penalty. 

Kenya was a haven for LGBTQ+ refugees but rising hostility is pushing some to extreme measures, like leaving for South Sudan

Kenya is the only country in East Africa to offer asylum to LGBTQ+ people fleeing oppressive laws in neighbouring countries such as Uganda.

But for many LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, it has become another place of abuse, where they live on the margins awaiting official refugee status, and must still hide their true selves.

Scattered in their millions across the world, Syrians have been watching the seismic change taking place in their homeland with disbelief and joy but also anxiously wondering how the ripples from the radical shift will affect their futures.

After rebels took control of the capital Damascus on Sunday, European countries paused processing asylum claims by Syrians and a number of politicians are already talking of repatriations and deportations.

Democrats and Republicans have had completely different stances on funding LGBTQ+ rights around the world through development aid.

Since 2011, Democratic presidents have supported LGBTQ+ rights through development policy.

Namibian LGBTQ+ advocates hope a High Court ruling next month will decriminalise gay sex by overturning the colonial-era sodomy law, offering a ray of hope even as parliament tries to crack down on same-sex relationships.

"The courts (are) our last hope and our beacon of liberation," Omar van Reenen, who is co-founder of the rights group Equal Namibia, told Context in an interview.

A ruling this month by Uganda's Constitutional Court to water down a tough anti-LGBTQ+ law may have stemmed from concern to avoid further international sanctions over the controversial legislation, rights activists and analysts say.

The court's decision to strike out several of the law's most contentious clauses came weeks after a similar law passed by Ghana appeared to have hit a roadblock amid Finance Ministry warnings it could derail $3.8 billion in international aid.

A Ugandan court has upheld a sweeping law that introduced the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", leaving only one legal route to challenge some of the most punitive anti-LGBTQ+ measures in Africa.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Act, while striking down some of its key sections, citing health and privacy concerns.