Q&A: Ghana's anti-LGBTQ+ bill will drive HIV cases, activist says

GATESHEAD, United Kingdom - A bill that will further criminalise LGBTQ+ people in Ghana could lead to a surge in HIV infections if passed, given that U.S. foreign aid cuts have already disrupted the battle against the virus, a Ghanaian health advocate said.

Originally approved last year, the bill was not signed into law by then-president Nana Akufo-Addo but was resubmitted to parliament by a group of lawmakers in February.

The speaker of parliament, Alban Bagbin, has said he is determined to see it into law this year.

As well as targeting same-sex intimacy, the bill would make it a crime to identify as LGBTQ+, undergo sex-reassignment surgery, fund or sponsor LGBTQ+ rights organisations and promote the rights of sexual and gender minorities.

Human rights advocates say the provisions criminalising LGBTQ+ "propaganda" could also affect organisations working to fight HIV, as many use social media to reach the groups most at risk such as gay and bisexual men and trans people.

Context sat down with Clarkson Afram, a Ghanaian public health officer, on the sidelines of the Safer To Be Me Conference, a global LGBTQ+ rights gathering in the British town of Gateshead, to discuss their concerns around the draft law.

What has happened since the reintroduction of the Family Values Bill in Ghana in February?

The past few months have been hectic for LGBT people in Ghana, especially when it comes to mental health, and particularly challenging for transgender individuals.

Since the reintroduction of the bill, I've had people coming to me with screenshots of messages from people threatening them, telling them: "Wait for the bill to be passed, we are coming for you."

How do you think the bill could, if passed, impact access to health care for LGBTQ+ individuals?

The bill would bring the total erasure of queer people. In the draft legislation it is stipulated that if a health care professional comes into contact with a queer person, they need to report them to the nearest police station, else they will be the ones facing the consequences.

This will prevent LGBTQI+ people from accessing health care.

But it's not just a problem for them. LGBTQ+ people also have sexual interactions with non-LGBTQ+ people. A bisexual man, for example, could also have sex with women.

If a queer person gets infected (with HIV) and they don't have access to antiretrovirals, and then they have sex with someone else, that person could also get infected. That could be your sister, your mother, your niece.

So, it's not about LGBTQI+ rights, it impacts us all.

Denying queer people access to health care will make HIV rampant because if HIV-positive people cannot access the medication they need, they will keep infecting other people.

How have the foreign aid cuts ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump impacted the work of health care groups in Ghana?

One of the things we can't do anymore is outreach. Normally, instead of waiting for people to come to a clinic, which they might be scared to do for fear of stigma or discrimination, we would go to deliver what they need to their door.

And we'd also go to rural areas where people might find it harder to access health care services, or (we might) reimburse transportation costs for them to come get tested or get their medication, which they can't afford on their own.

But now all that money is gone, and we can't do that anymore.

You've done a lot of work with intersex people in Ghana. What challenges do they face?

One of the main challenges intersex Ghanaians face is infanticide. Intersex people are taboo, and when these babies are born in some traditional areas in Ghana, they are sometimes sacrificed and killed, believing they are being sent back to the gods. But we have also seen harmful medical practices rooted in shame, in secrecy, that happen without consent, that often lead to the person having to undergo several painful surgeries when they are older.

(Reporting by Enrique Anarte; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst.)