What African LGBTQ+ activists need from donors amid anti-gay law surge

As LGBTQ+ activists in Africa await another legal challenge to an anti-gay law in Uganda and a proposed one in Ghana, Western donors are being urged to increase funding for the movement, develop more effective narratives to support rights in the global south, and to counter Western evangelical influence.

Ghana's Supreme Court postponed a hearing on a legal challenge to the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, which was approved by the country's Parliament in February. The bill criminalizes LGBTQ+ sexual activity, prescribing prison sentences ranging from six months to three years for engaging in such acts. Moreover, it imposes sentences of three to five years for promoting or sponsoring LGBTQ+ activities. Two petitions have been filed challenging the constitutionality of the controversial legislation.

In Uganda, a court ruling last month struck down two sections and two subsections of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 while upholding the constitutionality of the remaining provisions of the law. The law prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” Activists are appealing the Constitutional Court’s decision not to strike down the entire law and say the partial nullification was "merely window dressing designed to try to persuade donors to restart funding."