Human rights

“It had just stopped raining. One carried a baton and another had a gun. As they approached, I happily thought my first pay for the night had come,” Sarah Nakato, a sex worker in her 30s narrates her ordeal when two policemen approached her as she stood in a street corner after midnight. go →

The controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 will return to Ugandan parliament for discussion, ending widely publicised speculation that a Cabinet sub-committee had buried it. Proposed by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, the bill seeks to criminalise aggravated homosexuality, with those convicted facing a death sentence. go →

In Peru, where cultural norms emphasize women’s subordination and the importance of masculinity, programs with a focus on gender—particularly those involving sex workers—are often underfunded and under represented. This case study (one of nine in a series) describes how three organizations focused on sex workers and transgendered and transsexual people have joined together to advance the rights of sex workers. go →

A support network plus access to legal and psychological support are essential components of HIV programming for most-at-risk populations. In Colombia, obtaining this support is difficult for many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community due to pervasive stigma and discrimination. Bogotá’s LGBT Community Center was founded in order to help fill this need and serves a clientele comprised mainly of men who have sex with men. This case study (one of nine in a series) examines the center’s efforts to provide a social and educational base for its clients while also advocating for their rights. go →

A woman has died in a Lyantonde government health centre after the doctors failed to get stitches to sew the wound after an operation. The deceased whose name remains unknown had gone to Kasambya Health Centre IV in Lyantonde district to give birth. go →

The death of Cecilia Namboozo in the labour ward of Mbale Hospital, Eastern Uganda last month, mirrors the massive problem health centers are facing all over the country. She is just one in 16 who die everyday during labour. The government last Wednesday outlined a six point ‘fire-brigade’ response to salvage the country’s ailing health care system after the death of a primary school teacher in Mbale District sparked public fury countrywide. go →

This week’s acquittal of soldiers who allegedly gang-raped and incapacitated a young girl in Moroto has copiously added pain to the terrible effect that Ms Teddy Nakiru is carrying after a rape that took place on New Year’s Eve. There was medical evidence that Ms Nakiru was raped and one of the defendants, Pte. James Manana, admitted to have had a sexual encounter with the victim, but claimed she was his girlfriend. The army court, sitting in Moroto District, however, ruled on Tuesday that, “The state had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as required by law and subsequently found Pte. Manana not guilty of the offence of rape.” go →

The Rafto Human Rights Prize 2011 has been awarded to Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and its leader Frank Mugisha. SMUG works to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. go →

The magnitude and severity of preventable and treatable NCDs – diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease – has brought the affordability of medicines to the forefront of global public health. go →

A drug which is already licensed for use could be used to treat sight problems in some albino people, say US researchers. People with albinism produce little or no melanin, which has a range of health consequences including poor sight and greater risk of skin cancer. go →

Following the death of a woman in labour and her baby in Mbale Referral Hospital, government has started strengthening supervision and operations to track drug thefts and monitor ethical behaviours of medical workers. go →