Los Angeles Times Op-Ed Calls for U.S. to Take Stand Against Uganda's Proposed Anti-Homosexual Law

"In spite of all that [PEPFAR] has accomplished, ... a persistent problem remains: the promotion of homophobia by African governments receiving American aid money," James Kirchick, an assistant editor of the New Republic, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece that examines how proposed legislation in Uganda could serve to undermine the country's HIV-prevention efforts. "Because of conservative social mores and government repression, many are hesitant to come forward to get information regarding safe sexual practices," Kirchick writes. "This bill could make the very discussion of condom use and HIV prevention for gay men illegal. By driving gays even further underground, such governmental homophobia only ensures that HIV will continue to spread unabated."

Noting recent appeals for U.S. officials to voice their disproval of the anti-homosexuality bill, Kirchick continues: "From 2004 through 2008, Uganda received a total of $1.2 billion in PEPFAR money, and this year it is receiving $285 million more. Clearly, the United States has a great deal of leverage over the Ugandan government, and the American taxpayer should not be expected to fund a regime that targets a vulnerable minority for attack -- an attack that will only render the vast amount of money that we have donated moot" (Kirchick, 11/20).

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