The World Bank is going to ensure that the programs it funds do not discriminate against gay and transgender individuals in Uganda before resuming new funding, Victoria Kwakwa, the bank's head for Eastern and Southern Africa, told media.
Speaking at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, she emphasized the World Bank's commitment to ensuring that project documents explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Ugandans and that staff are not penalized for including them.
"We're doing all this to clarify this is not what you should be doing in World Bank-financed projects and to say you are allowed to do it the right way and you will be not be arrested," she said.
However, she refrained from providing a timeline for evaluating the effectiveness of the measures and deciding whether to restore new funding for Uganda.
Rights groups claim that since the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) in late May, which criminalizes homosexual relations and imposes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, LGBTQ individuals have suffered a wave of abuse, especially from private citizens.
According to Asuman Basalirwa, the legislator who proposed the bill, it aims to protect the cultural, religious, and family values of Ugandan citizens from activities that may promote "sexual promiscuity" in the nation.
In June, the United States responded to the law by imposing visa restrictions on officials from Uganda. Additionally, US President Joe Biden made threats of sanctions and aid cuts against the country, calling the passage of the bill a "tragic violation of universal human rights" and urging Uganda to repeal the legislation immediately. The government of the East African state deemed these threats as "unacceptable blackmail."
In August, the World Bank announced the suspension of its loans to Uganda, emphasizing that the law is "inconsistent" with the lender's ideals. The World Bank's portfolio of projects in the East African nation totaled $5.2 billion at the end of 2022. The decision to halt new financing has had no impact on them.
In response, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni criticized the bank's decision to halt financing for national projects. The president accused the bank of attempting to employ monetary means to coerce the nation into relinquishing its culture and sovereignty. He further stated that Uganda can address its own social and economic issues without external interference.