A man stands next to an AIDS
billboard as he cleans a street in Yaounde, the capital of
Cameroon, in this archive photo. REUTERS/Alessandro
Bianchi
HIV and homosexuality are no
laughing matter in a country where being gay is illegal and LGBT
activists face rising hostility and violence
Sitting in a circle with several
other young men in a charity's offices in Cameroon's capital, Fleur
listens intently to the speaker talk about gay sex before slowly
raising his hand.
"Can
we catch AIDS by swallowing sperm?" he asks, prompting laughter
from his peers at the group discussion held by Alcondoms, an
organisation promoting the rights and health of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Yet HIV and homosexuality are no
laughing matter for men like Fleur in a country where being gay is
illegal and LGBT activists face rising hostility and
violence.
Cameroon has the second highest
HIV prevalence rate in West and Central Africa, after Nigeria, and
men who have sex with men are hit the hardest, says the U.N. AIDS
programme (UNAIDS).
While one in 25 people in
Cameroon are living with HIV, almost a quarter of men who have sex
with men in Yaounde have the virus which causes AIDS.
The prevalence of HIV among this
group in Douala, the economic capital, is even higher with two in
five men who have sex with men (MSM) infected, according to the
state's national AIDS control committee.
The committee says it has
developed various strategies in recent years to reduce the number
of new infections, such as making antiretroviral treatment free and
setting up support programmes for patients.
Women's rights and gender
equality,we highlights issues affecting women,
girls and transgender people.
But the fear of discrimination
and threat of five years in prison are driving MSM and LGBT people
away from hospitals and state programmes, according to civil
society groups who say they fill the gap by providing condoms,
counselling and healthcare.
However, their work in improving
access to healthcare for these marginalised communities has also
had an unforeseen and adverse impact, according to gay rights
activist Lambert Lamba.
"People feel that taking MSM
into account in health policy is a way to legalise homosexual
behaviour," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Yaounde.
"This has resulted in more and more attacks on gay people and human
rights defenders."
Animosity is growing between a
largely conservative society and a younger generation less
concerned by homosexuality in a country which prosecutes people for
being gay more aggressively than almost any other nation in the
world, LGBT activists say.
At least 50 people were
convicted of homosexuality between 2010 and 2014 - for acts ranging
from cross-dressing and wearing make-up to a man texting 'I love
you' to another man - according to data collected by The
Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS.
While there have only been a
handful of convictions since 2014 - a drop activists attribute to
their work, intervention by LGBT-friendly lawyers and the advocacy
of Western diplomats - discrimination towards MSM and LGBT people
remains rife.
Cameroon fights HIV/AIDS with female condoms in hair
salons
Evrard, who attended the group
discussion along with Fleur, said he would never return to a state
hospital when ill.
"When I went once with my
partner, the disapproving look of the medical staff, the murmurs
and the mocking laughter discouraged me," he said." I will never
relive this experience."
Police last month arrested 12
men for homosexuality because they were in possession of condoms
and lubricants, while the offices of several LGBT groups have been
vandalised and burgled in recent years, said legal charity Human
Dignity Trust.
In a killing that rocked
campaign groups in Cameroon in July 2013, gay rights activist Eric
Ohena Lembembe was found dead in his home in Yaounde. His neck was
broken, his feet smashed and his face burned with an iron,
according to Human Rights Watch.
LIBERATED
Aware of these challenges, the
national AIDS control committee relies on local civil society
groups to reach out to people at particular risk of HIV with
services including voluntary testing and medical
consultations.
"I am a MSM and a sex worker
myself," said Patrick Fotso, head of Alcondoms, which educates 50
people a month about HIV. "It's therefore easy for me and the
members of my association to get in touch with our peers and send
them prevention messages."
Larger organisations administer
antiretroviral drugs, and say they are working to ensure all
HIV-positive people on their books are on the
treatment.
Distributing condoms to halt the
spread of HIV is another key, and cost-effective,
strategy.
More than one million condoms
were distributed in Cameroon last year, compared with fewer than
100,000 in 2008, said Jean-Bosco Elat, coordinator of the national
AIDS committee.
While the state and civil
society groups strive to improve health services, individuals like
Fleur still have to contend with the constant menace of abuse,
discrimination and violence.
Recalling his experiences at
hospitals - where nurses said God would punish him for being gay -
and how people stare at him because he wiggles his hips when he
walks, Fleur said being able to discuss sex in a safe space with
his peers had liberated him.
"I can get answers to my
questions and easily take care of my health," he said. "I feel
happy and comfortable to be here."
AFRICAN
ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL Inc. is a global media and
technology company including lifestyle media publisher
SEMA AFRICA
online
Magazine AFRICAN ACHIEVERS MAGAZINE, digital shopping
platform PA-BEAUTY STATION.COM, event management
PRIDE OF AFRICA, awards program AfIA
AWARDS, youth and talent development, PILLARS OF
HOPE and AAK, Volunteerism
UNIVERSIDAY grassroots community support
NAD and financial support
REMITGROW and monthly subscription box AAi Must
Have. ....