A Safety and Security Advisory from the Uganda Key Populations Consortium (UKPC)
What is this advisory about?
The past year has been an extraordinary one for all Ugandans, including for members of key populations and the many individuals and organisations providing essential health services and other programmes. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March this year added a new set of challenges to the day-to-day work to protect and promote key populations and health in an environment where this work was already risky and difficult. As the Government of Uganda implemented strict public health measures to try to contain the spread of the virus, organisations serving key populations struggled to quickly adapt to avoid service disruptions and to respond to an alarming number of human rights violations against vulnerable individuals attempting to access services or simply trying to stay alive when access to income, shelter and food became more and more difficult. Many lessons were learned over the past nine months as the situation has evolved in the country, including how as a community we need to be better prepared to maintain essential health programmes and to improve the safety and security of those of us who provide services and those of us who rely on those services for our health and survival.
As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve in Uganda, we must not lose sight of other risks and challenges we face for our community. The holiday seasons are well known for increasing criminal activity involving robberies, break-ins, pick-pocketing and verbal and physical harassment and assault, including against members of key populations. This holiday seasons there are added risks linked to the upcoming elections, a period where, in the past, there have been many aggressions and violations against marginalised communities and against organisations and individuals who provide services.
Out of concern for the safety and security of community members and the organisations and service providers that provide for our health and other needs, the Uganda Key Populations Consortium (UKPC) is issuing this advisory. The purpose of the advisory is to provide practical information on how to strengthen safety and security for individuals and organisations to protect access to essential health services.