re/posted for critical analysis. this article was written By Elizabeth Mwai.
I only have questions to present. if the state is willing to spend $40m to count GAY kenyans. then can they channel that money through GALCK as the only coalition group working towards sexual minorities rights? and seeing as GALCK and Ishtar were already double crossed once just a few moons ago, can we ensure that the steering committee is comprised mainly of queers & trannies (yes, if you’re gonna bandika names on us, then we can choose our own ‘foreign’ terms)?
and can the state be held accountable to its promises? frankly we just don’t trust y’all…if you’re so interested in helping us, then strike down those criminalising laws…it’s as simple as bahati….just table a bill. then…maybe…we can work together in finding out what our needs are..
right now I fear you may jus set the pigs after me. you’ve already sent the vultures en all the closet faggots you could muster to “sell” us OUT…what you don’t know, those are not OUR people.
we are the ones who speak back, who resist your borrowed notions of identity. we are the ones who remain TRUTHful, even when it’s deadly…like that anti homosexuality bill.
before we go ahead with population council, can we spend that money counting all the criminals in parliament and all arms of state? that money should be enough to get us started on a major cleansing of the revolushunary kind.
my position would be to spend that $40m on service delivery…we know we’re here, you’re the one that’s casting it as unfamiliar.
The Government will spend Sh40 million on a research to establish the number of gay Kenyans.
The survey, set to begin in December till June next year, is the first of its kind.
On Tuesday, National Aids and STD Control Programme (Nascop) director Nicholas Muraguri said the survey would be done in conjunction with the National Population Council.
“We cannot continue excluding this group identified as a key driver to new HIV/Aids infections,” said Dr Muraguri.
In an interview with The Standard, Muraguri said establishing the population of men who have sex with men would facilitate development of interventions.
Apart from knowing their population, Muraguri said the study was aimed at understanding their behavioural practices, condom use and risk factors.
Murgauri said it is believed majority is married for purposes of trying to hide their preferences.
“We want to know how many partners do they usually have, are they married, > do they use drugs and what’s their care seeking behaviour,” said Muraguri.
*Hot spot* Currently, the gay hotspot is believed to be Coast Province, Nairobi and
tourist sites, including game reserves.
Muraguri said gay men had been known to have an almost five times higher the national HIV prevalence than the normal average
He said social exclusion has globally been identified as a major contributor to ill health among gays.
He said the Government finds it challenging to tackle the spread of new infections estimated at 100,000 cases annually because of ignoring key drivers to the scourge.
Studies have shown 15 per cent of the new HIV infections are attributed to gays.
According to the Mode of Transmission Study conducted at Coast Province in 2007 and results released last year, they were responsible for up to 20 per cent of the new HIV infections in the region.
The most at risk have been identified to be commercial sex workers, truckers, injecting drug users and gays.
Muraguri said the Ethical Review Board would appraise tools for the study.
He said most programmes on gays were mostly driven by NGOs, a situation the Government ought to take charge off.
He said by gathering such information, they would reach out to the group in the fight against spread of HIV and Aids.
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Peter N. Njane
Director ISHTAR MSM
TEL:+254721952570
EMAIL:pnjoro2002@yahoo.com <EMAIL%3Apnjoro2002@yahoo.com>
pnjane@ishtarmsm.org
> *ww* <http://www.galck.org/ishtar>** <http://www.galck.org/ishtar>*
> * <http://www.galck.org/ishtar>
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