NAIROBI/MEXICO CITY, May 20 (Openly) - It started with headaches then came nausea and diarrhea. Within two weeks, gay Ugandan barber Eric had became so weak without his HIV medication he could not walk and had to be hospitalised.

"I was in the hospital for a week and four days. I nearly lost my life," said Eric, 26, by phone from his village in Ntungamo district in western Uganda.

"The doctor told me that I shouldn't have stopped taking my HIV medicines, but it wasn't my choice. There is no transport available because of the lockdown and I couldn't walk the 20 km (12 miles) to the clinic to get my refills".

Lockdowns globally are preventing some LGBT+ people with HIV from getting the life-saving treatment they need - and potentially putting their compromised immune systems at risk if they contract COVID-19, according to HIV/AIDS organisations.

From Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique to Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Trinidad and Tobago, rights groups report hearing of sexual minorities forced off treatment due to stay at home orders despite some government and NGO efforts to try to help them.

Matteo Cassolato, technical lead for HIV at the charity Frontline AIDS, said they were receiving a rising number of grant applications from grassroots LGBT+ groups whose members were struggling to get their medications because of COVID-19.

"People living with HIV across the world are having problems to get their regular treatment due to lockdowns, but for groups like the LGBT+ community it is more challenging due to their vulnerability and the discrimination they face," said Cassolato.

"They are being persecuted and arrested in some countries, or stopped by police as they go to collect their medicine and forced to return home. Due to the stigma and homophobia, it is often difficult to explain themselves." Read more via Openly/Reuters