Dear friends,

Thank you for signing up for the new and improved Open Society Health Newsletter for periodic updates on the Open Society Foundations’ health-related work. In this update, we take a closer look at the murder of an LGBT activist in Uganda and the sexual health rights of HIV positive women in Kenya.

Thank you for reading and please send me your feedback.

Paul Silva
psilva@sorosny.org
Follow me on Twitter: @PauloNYC

Open Society Foundations Pay Tribute to Slain Gay Activist David Kato

In a country where government leaders openly advocate for the death penalty as a punishment for homosexuality, David Kato emerged as a prominent and fearless human rights defender in Uganda. Last year, a local tabloid published David’s picture and name, along with other lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals, with the headline “Hang Them.” A year later, he was brutally murdered. Heather Doyle of the Sexual Health and Rights Project recounts her first meeting with David and the serious personal sacrifices of LGBT activists around the world. 

David’s death continues to cause as much controversy as his life did. This month the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa sought to buy space for a tribute to David in local and regional Uganda newspapers. As Anne Gathumbi describes it, publishing an ad critical of gay persecution in Uganda proved too controversial for a major media company.

Were the editors worried about a government backlash? Homophobic? Read Anne's post and leave a comment on our blog.

U.S. Group Seeks to Stop Kenyan Women Living with HIV from Having Children

Brett Davidson blogged a few weeks ago that Project Prevention—an organization that pays female drugs users in the U.S. and UK to be sterilized—has turned its attention to Kenya. According to news reports, the project plans to pay women living with HIV to be inserted with intrauterine devices—a form of long-term contraception—in order to “prevent the conception of a child who will only be born to die.”

Four reproductive rights experts discuss the health and rights implications of this decision on the Open Society Blog. Read the discussion and let us know what you think.

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