Where being gay is the death penalty, the cuts of support are “painful”

In weeks, since President Trump signed the executive order of the dismantling of the American International Development Agency, the phone Andrea Minaj Casablanca was flooded with desperate requests for support.

The advisor who works with the NON -ProS organization, serving members of the LGBTQ population in Uganda, issued urgent requests of people looking for medicines, the therapy sessions and shelter after the executive order of Mr. Trump. Mrs. Casablanca responded to these connections, struggling with her own crisis: dismissed from work financed by USAID

“Our whole world was turned upside down,” said a 25-year-old transgender woman, the capital, capital, the capital of Kampali. “Everyone is afraid of the future.”

LGBTQ people in Uganda have experienced intensifying repression in this conservative nation of East Africa in recent years. President Yoweri Museveni signed the law in 2023, which requires life imprisonment for anyone who is involved in relations of the same sex in Uganda and to a decade of prison for anyone who tries.

Activists say that USAID cuts have put them at an even greater risk, and the shelters are underfunded, hundreds of unemployed people and much more struggles with discrimination and violence. Essential medical materials remain infrequent, while members of LGBTQ groups are increasingly reporting the feeling of depression or suicide.

The law also allows the death penalty for anyone who is convicted of “deteriorated homosexuality”, a broad term defined as acts of relations of the same sex with minors or disabled. Mr. Museveni and his government claimed that homosexuality is a Western phenomenon and that the law protects children and weapons of the sanctity of the family.

“This is counting,” said Richard Lusimbo, founder and general director of the UGANDA population consortium, non -profit organization promoting LGBTQ law and health.

“After the disappearance of these programs, I am worried that our communities will stay back in disarray and deprivation of liberty,” he added. “It’s painful.”

Muhozi Kaineerugaba, Mr. Son of Musevenni and the head of Uganda of the army, called President Trump to restore support for people infected with HIV, adding: “Our people will be grateful.”

United States provided Development of over $ 970 million a year, as well as humanitarian aid and security for Uganda. In 2023, about $ 440 million was spent on health programs, followed by emergency services, agriculture and education, According to US government data.

Over the years, the United States has supported the LGBTQ groups in Uganda through USAID financed by USAID, offering HIV treatment, legal training and resources for activism. Previous US rule also convicted violations of human rights towards gays of Ugandans, imposing trade and restrictions on travel in response.

Just a few days after Mr. Trump took office in January, his administration announced that he stops all foreign support by conducting a 90-day audit of expenses. Secretary of State Marco Rubio He gave a waiver Continue financing drugs saving life and medical services, including care and treatment of HIV and tuberculosis.

But Exclusion was excluded Programs promoting diversity, justice and inclusion. This meant that LGBTQ people were not able to receive medicines to protect them against HIV infections. Several Ugandan groups of Gay rights said that during the audit they were informed that their projects were permanently completed because they promoted diversity, equality and inclusion.

At the end of February, Trump’s administration announced that it had completed the review of all American foreign support and reduced 90 percent of USAID programs, including those who provide life -saving drugs.

The rapid loss of support from the United States caused the terrified many gays of Ugandans. “It’s like taking place from one fire to another fire,” said Agy HRD, executive director of Africa Queer Network, who is working on LGBTQ rights in several African countries.

Mrs. HRD, who vigorously conducted a campaign against the Act on antihomosexuality in Uganda, said that she was attacked and beaten in this country last year. Thanks to sudden financing cuts, he worries that many gays, especially in rural areas, get violence or encounter violence and there is nowhere to turn to security or support.

“I haven’t slept well for weeks,” she said. “We have a great battle ahead of us.”

An informal survey conducted by 127 non-profit organizations dealing with LGBTQ problems and other threatened groups carried out by the UGANDA population consortium, Mr. Lusimbo, showed that 97 percent of them lost almost all their budgets as a result of USAID cuts. Mr. Lusimbo said that he must let most of his employees leave in the last month.

Organizations began to distribute what few resources they left, and relied on volunteers to maintain the necessary services, such as finding shelters or providing test sets. Brant Luswata, executive director of Icebreakers Uganda, organization for gay rights, said that as the services were eliminated, his group was asked to return offices and chairs purchased using American tax dollars.

Activists have found that some LGBTQ clinics are now charging for services that were previously free, such as HIV tests. They said that mental health services were completely reduced or constrained. There are also fears that a sudden suspension of support will withdraw the years of progress in the teaching of Ugandans about secure sex or exposing people living from HIV to life -threatening infections due to their weakened immunity.

“Infections did not stop just because there is a 90-day review,” said Lusimbo. “We live in a global village,” he added. “Everyone’s health is threatened.”

The conditions of LGBTQ Ugandans are so perilous that shelters often transfer locations or transfer people to avoid personal attacks or raids from the authorities. Now some of these shelters are starting to close.

From 2020, about three dozen shelters in secret locations in Uganda protected thousands of gays from homelessness and violence, according to John Grace, the coordinator of the consortium of the Uganda minority.

The shelters consisted of intermediaries who received American financing, including USAID and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But due to the gradual cuttings of financing and changes in politics within the Trump administration, at least a dozen shelters have already been closed, said MX. Grace, who is not binary.

They said that those who remained were insufficient and overcrowded and began to reverse people.

“It’s a complete mess,” said MX. 32 -year -old Grace, whose family threw them out a few years ago as non -wealthy. “These hostels are a rescue line for so many people, and now they are trying to survive.”

For Mrs. Casablanca, an adviser, a tenacious stream of telephone connections does not show any signs of resignation. Despite the fact that she did not receive a monthly payment of USD 40 financed by USAID, she decided to continue working as a volunteer.

She said that in the cities of Kampali and other Ugandan cities LGBTQ extends their hand, worry about where to get medicines, condoms, lubricants and tests. She said that some were calling tears, sharing their struggles with fear and isolation. Many, like her, are also worried about where their next payment comes from or how they pay the rent.

She said that she started working as an event decorator at the end. “We have to survive in this darkness,” she said.