Anti-LGBTQIA2S+ laws cost Uganda $1.6 billion

KAMPALA – Uganda’s anti-LGBTQIA2S+ laws that include the death sentence in some cases have cost the nation as much as US$1.6 billion since being introduced in May last year, a new study found.
The losses from the legislation, which includes life imprisonment for certain sexual acts and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” — defined in part as engaging in sex if one is HIV-positive — include foreign direct investment, international aid, trade and tourism and could total as much as 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), Open for Business said in a report. 
The organisation, which is a coalition of global companies including American Express Co, AT&T Inc and Virgin Group Ltd, conducts research into the business development and economic effects of anti-gay policies.
Combined losses over a five-year period could rise to a range of $2.3 billion to $8.3 billion as flights in human capital and talent — together with the expense of policing and legal processes — add to the other costs, the study found.
Soon after the enactment of the law, the World Bank — long Uganda’s biggest provider of budget support — halted new loans to the East African nation because the act contradicts its values. The Washington-based lender last month said it is now working with Uganda to restore the funding.
LGBTQIA2S+ rights are increasingly under pressure in Africa. More than 30 African nations have criminalised consensual same-sex sexual activity, and others are considering similarly worded legislation to that passed by Uganda, according to Amnesty International.
In June, Malawi’s Constitutional Court upheld a law that makes same sex conduct a criminal offense. On Tuesday in Ghana, hundreds of people took to the streets of the nation’s capital, Accra, asking the country’s top court to speed up implementation of an anti-LGBTQIA2S+ bill.
While Uganda has already made significant losses due to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, these will only worsen should the AHA remain in law without any changes or steps toward repeal, Open for Business said in a statement.
“These are the steps Ugandan policymakers should be considering in order to future-proof their economy while creating a more liveable country for all citizens, not just those who are LGBTQ+,” it said.