A former patient at a South African clinic serving the LGBTQI+ community who has to return to government care said: “I have to put my mind back, psychologically, to the fact that I’m going back to a place where people are not trained to accommodate a person [who is gay]. It won’t be easy, because I’ve been holding onto this transfer letter for almost a month. I just don’t want to go, I think I’ll wait until I take my last pill, and then after that I’ll go. But I’m still hoping that things will change.”
Date: 2/26
Region: Africa
Country: South Africa
Topic: Health, Gender Equality & Inclusion
Policy Lens: Global Health Security
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Vuyolwethu Nguse, who had been one of OUT LGBT Well-Being’s clients for two years. He told Devex that he has continued to cancel each appointment he makes with the government facility — and though he knows he does need to go back, he’s still struggling to believe it.
OUT is one of South Africa's oldest queer-friendly clinics, and one that’s specifically focused on men who have sex with men. Last January, the United States’ cuts to foreign aid forced OUT to shutter its services for 10,000 clients — and over the last year, some of South Africa’s most at-risk HIV patients were left in the dark.
Of the nine staff members remaining at the clinic, most have been focused on routing former patients into alternative care. But with nonprofit services strained and shuttered, that’s meant more people have been pushed to government facilities — settings that often lack the training, sensitivity, or ability to serve OUT’s target population.
Source: Devex