An activist-led fund dedicated to strengthening and supporting a West African movement for gender diversity and sexual rights by adopting a flexible approach to grant-making and building a culture of philanthropy committed to equality and social justice.
MSM living in African countries that criminalise gay sex are at a much higher risk of getting HIV
UNAIDS: Violence faced by key populations
HIV testing and engagement with the HIV treatment cascade among MSM in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
HIV disproportionately affects gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Africa, where many countries criminalise same-sex behaviour. We assessed changes in the engagement of African MSM with HIV testing and treatment cascade stages over time, and the effect of anti-LGBT legislation and stigma.
UNAIDS likely not to meet its HIV targets among gay men in Africa
Burkina Faso: “We have an historic opportunity to put an end to the AIDS epidemic in Africa”
Burkina Faso: «On est loin d’envisager une gay pride au Burkina Faso»
A report, published the following year by independent researchers , the Afrobarometer, even ranks Burkina Faso among the three African countries most intolerant towards homosexuals. "The vast majority of the population is against us, especially religious and customary chiefs,"continues Marcel. Yet homosexuality has always existed here. "
Focus on key populations in national HIV strategic plans in the African region
Acceptance of LGBT people and rights has increased around the world
An Inclusive Day: Building foundations for learner-centred inclusive education.
African human rights body urges renewed efforts on human rights in response to HIV
West Africa: Mapping of LGBTQ organizations
Commissioned by a group of donors and activists, We exist: Mapping of LGBTQ organizations in West Africa is in an explanatory and participatory process to initiate the creation of a new funding mechanism led by LGBTQ activists West Africa. A group of funders and activists came together in 2013 to propose the creation of a bilingual fund managed and led by West African LGBTQ activists. The creation of such a fund would not only provide emerging leaders with the tools and spaces they need to build a more effective, inclusive movement for LGBTQ rights in West Africa, but also serve as a much-needed activist-owned platform for social change.
It would provide international donors with a safe and trusted mechanism to invest strategically in the region and to ensure their resources were reaching the grassroots with accountability. It would introduce a mechanism through which local strategies could be shared and regional strategies developed collectively, both proactively and in response to crises. Finally, it would provide a point of coordination in a region of Africa where both organizing and donor engagement on LGBTQ rights remains uncoordinated, uneven, and linguistically divided.
The work of setting up such a fund requires a deeper understanding of LGBTQ activism in this vast and diverse region, as well as of the past and current funding landscape and the additional support available for the emerging movement, especially in Francophone countries, where organizing is still largely underground. Therefore, an exploratory and participatory process was undertaken to enable activists, funders, and allies to map the state of LGBTQ organizing in West Africa and gather data to help determine the appropriate initial structure and priorities of the fund. Read more via Qayn