Discrimination against LGBT population undermining HIV prevention efforts in Guatemala, IPS reports

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Dec 15 2011

Inter Press Service examines discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Guatemala, where advocates and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say such discrimination is undermining HIV prevention and treatment. Carolos Valdez of the NGO Proyecto Unidos "said the country has taken 'few steps' for preventing the spread of HIV among vulnerable groups," including "opening five clinics catering to members of sexual minorities," IPS writes.

However, "Jorge Lopez, director of the Organization to Support an Integral Sexuality In the Face of AIDS, told IPS that as long as members of sexual minorities are considered 'abnormal' and their rights as citizens are violated with impunity, it will be impossible to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS" (Valladares, 12/13).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.