Antiretroviral therapy clinics insist that sexual minorities are not discriminated against when trying to access ARVs.
This is contrary to what the recently-released Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) report says.
The 2008 report says, iSexual minorities are among the groups that have generally not received free ARVs. This is due to the fact that these groups are not recognized under the Constitution of Uganda and therefore exist illegally.i
Willy Agirembabazi, a member of the Report Committee who works in the UHRC's Vulnerable Persons Unit, explains that lesbians and gays are turned away from accessing ARVs because of some of the information the HIV care providers require from them.
Agirembabazi says that the commission visited referral hospitals and public health centres which have ART clinics and interacted with the service providers.
He adds that the medical and counseling personnel informed the commission that when such people are asked to come for counseling with their partners, many never return.
But Dr. Andrew Kambugu, the Head of Clinical Services at the Infectious Diseases Institute Mulago, one of the largest HIV care clinics in the country, says that when one is seeking antiretroviral therapy, information about the client's sexual orientation is not required.
He argues that homosexuals are in most cases secretive about such information and would probably not even disclose it if were required.
Kambugu however says that such information may be required when the clinic is assessing the risk of transmission among different groups of people.
He says that by that time however, one is already accessing treatment.
Joseph Bazibu, the Head of Advocacy at The Aids Support Organization (TASO), says that when a client is receiving HIV/AIDS counseling, where, when or from whom they contracted HIV doesn't matter.
James Kigozi, the Public Relations Officer for the Uganda Aids Commission adds that though homosexuals are not constitutionally recognized, the HIV care and treatment available in the country should be non-discriminatory.
//Cue in: iAm aware that#
Cue out:#sexual orientation.i//
Sexual minorities are not considered a high-risk group in HIV transmission under Uganda's HIV/AIDS policies because they are not constitutionally recognized.
The report indicates that the UHRC received only 3 complaints of unfair access to health care. This constitutes 0.28 percent of the total complaints compiled in 2008.
