MARRAKECH, Morocco โ The World Bank will try to ensure that gay and transgender Ugandans are not discriminated against in its programs before resuming new funding, which was suspended in August for a anti-LGBTQ lawsaid a bank executive.
The World Bank's project documents will make clear that LGBTQ Ugandans should not face discrimination and that staff will not be arrested for including them, Victoria Kwakwa, the bank's director for eastern and southern Africa, told Reuters.
Human rights groups have said that the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which was enacted in May and prescribes the death penalty for certain acts between people of the same sex, has unleashed a torrent of abuse against LGBTQ people, mainly by individuals.
โWe are doing all this to make it clear that this is not what to do in World Bank-funded projects and to say that you are allowed to do it the right way and you will not be arrested,โ Kwakwa said, on the sidelines. of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Marrakech, Morocco.
He declined to give a timeline for evaluating the effectiveness of the measures and making a decision on whether or not new funding for Uganda will resume.
โWe have discussed this at length with the government. The government is comfortable with that,โ Kwakwa said.
When the World Bank suspended new funding, Ugandan officials accused the development financial institution of hypocrisy, saying it was lending to countries in the Middle East and Asia that have equal or stricter laws against LGBTQ people.
The government would need review your budget to reflect the potential financial impact of the suspension, a junior finance minister said at the time.
The World Bank's project portfolio in the East African country amounted to $5.2 billion at the end of 2022. These have not been affected by the decision to suspend new financing.
