Western aid donors ‘indirectly funding gay conversion therapy’ – Metro.co.uk
Major Western aid donors could be inadvertently funding vile ‘gay conversion therapy’ in Africa.
Billions have been pledged to government-backed aid groups to help tackle disease and bolster public health in impoverished nations – but the funds could also be going into the pockets of anti-gay fraudsters.
An undercover investigation by Open Democracy uncovered several instances of unscientific and dangerous ‘therapies’ being offered in clinics in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
It found that homosexuality was described at these clinics as ‘evil’ and a ‘mental health problem’.
Some of the clinics benefited indirectly from funding by the UK and from American development agencies.
At one clinic supported by MSI Reproductive Choices in Tanzania – a London-based organisation formally known as Marie Stopes – a counsellor told a reporter their brother could be ‘changed’ through a ‘counselling timetable’.
MSI received more than £46 million from the UK’s Department for International Development to promote reproductive health abroad, according to 2019 documents.
A spokesperson for the charity strongly condemned the ‘unethical practice’ and said: ‘We have launched an investigation and will take immediate action against anyone found to be involved in this abhorrent practice.’
At a clinic in Uganda’s largest public hospital in Kampala, a receptionist told an undercover reporter ‘whoever wants to quit homosexuality, we connect them’ to people conducting the practice.
The Global Fund, an international aid organisation, is investigating its own ties to Uganda’s health system following the investigation. The clinic also received a $420,000 grant from USAID, Washington’s aid arm.
Anthony Kujawa from the US embassy in Uganda said: ‘USAID does not fund or promote anti-LGBTQI+ “conversion therapy” and will investigate any report that a USAID funded partner is doing so.’
In Nairobi, staff at the headquarters of a Kenyan HIV/AIDS group called LVCT Health reportedly offered ‘evidence-informed programmes’ to treat the ‘trend’ of homosexuality, which is something men are ‘trapped’ into by others.
An LVCT Health spokesperson said they were ‘deeply unsettled by the idea that a staff member would perpetuate this harmful myth’.
The group has benefited from $8 million worth of US funding over five years, Open Democracy reports.
A UN expert called for a global ban on ‘conversion therapies’ last year, saying: ‘The word “therapy”, derived from the Greek, denotes “healing”.
‘However, practices of conversion therapy are just the opposite: they inflict severe pain and suffering, resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage…’
In May, Boris Johnson’s government announced it would ban the practice after the completion of a public consultation.
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