Defending HIV and health services and human rights in Cameroon

I have seen first hand the negative impact of institutional discrimination and legal documents that repress same-sex relationships in Cameroon.

There are three main legal documents that repress same-sex relationships in the country. The first, the Penal Code 2016*, criminalises “acts of ‘homosexuality” and carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a fine, for both men and women. The second is the 2010 law on cybercriminality and cybersecurity,** which criminalises anyone using electronic communication devices to make sexual proposals to a person of the same sex; the penalty for which is doubled if the sexual proposal is then “followed by sexual intercourse”. The third is Cameroon’s Civil Status Registration Ordinance,^ which forbids marriage between same-sex partners.

Then there are religious beliefs and stigmatising stereotypes in play as well, all of which make it challenging for those who are most marginalised and most affected by HIV to access services free from fear or constraints.

Institutional discrimination

Criminalisation also means that human rights defenders who work in public health are themselves often victims of attack. That really impedes progress on the HIV response at a national level and consequently the ability to directly defend the rights of marginalised communities including people living with HIV, transgender people, gay men and other men who have sex with men.

We always have to make a link back to health to be sure that, from a legal perspective, we are covered.

As an organisation, we’ve had bans placed on meetings and demonstrations. We’ve even received court summons. But we are not passively accepting the situation as it is.

Sometimes we have to use indirect strategies to be able to promote and protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people. We always have to make a link back to health to be sure that, from a legal perspective, we are covered.

And, in terms of awareness raising and mobilisation, we’ve seen a big improvement when it comes to healthcare providers’ practices. The more we’ve fought against institutional discrimination and stigmatisation, the more engaged and ready to change that healthcare professionals have become.

building our advocacy toolbox

We are a partner in Frontline AIDS Response, Evidence Advocacy Change (REACh) programme. Through the REACh programme, we have strengthened two important components of our advocacy toolbox: the Network of Associations for the Involvement of Key Populations (RAIL-KVP network) and our consultation framework.

The RAIL-KVP network is made up of more than 250 key actors in different sectors, including healthcare providers, law and order officials, teachers, lawyers, journalists and community leaders. REACh allowed us to extend the network to where we recruited 30 new members.

We’ve seen the network understand and take on board a holistic human rights-based attitude to access to health and HIV services for key and vulnerable populations who are the most at risk of HIV, including transgender people.

The network is a real innovation for us. We’ve seen people begin to understand and take on board a holistic human rights-based attitude to access to health and HIV services for key and vulnerable populations who are the most at risk of HIV, including transgender people.

We’ve then been able to solicit their support on the ground and this collaboration has enabled concrete and impactful outcomes including getting arbitrarily detained individuals released, providing safe access to healthcare for victims of gender-based violence and legal assistance, and providing major awareness raising and advocacy initiatives.

A coordinated approach

The consultation framework allows us to directly discuss issues with major stakeholders who can influence and make decisions, such as ministerial teams. Some of the RAIL-KVP members are involved which means that there are several actors who can contribute to change happening in various areas.

Thanks to the framework, we’ve made a lot of progress, such as developing and inputting to strategic national policy documents, including the country operational plan to tackle HIV and malaria.

We’re proud that CAMFAIDS is now recognised by the Ministry of Health as a flagship organisation for its work and that our views are taken into account during strategic meetings.

It allows the actions that CAMFAIDS takes to be more visible and to facilitate instant contact with focal points in different sectors. We’re proud that CAMFAIDS is now recognised by the Ministry of Health as a flagship organisation for its work and that our views are taken into account during strategic meetings.

This coordinated approach has really shone a spotlight on the operating environment and the need to improve the lives of people living with and affected by HIV. Tackling human rights abuses and violations will have a considerable impact on the 95–95–95 HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression targets – such as an improvement in access to services and care for key and vulnerable populations.

Hurdles ahead

The last couple of years have not been obstacle-free. The global aid cuts initiated by the US mean, for example, that the work of ten organisations that we join with to collect data for the human rights violation monitoring tool REAct has been suspended.

CAMFAIDS has had to terminate the contracts of more than 20 of its own staff. This has created delays with staff being able to follow up with people at risk of or living with HIV, so HIV prevention and support activities have slowed down.

But I am a defender of human rights in Cameroon and the work to defend the rights of communities in all their diversity goes on.

We’ve also seen a growth in anti-rights movements in the region and, at a national level, there are several actors who have become less outspoken for fear of reprisals. We’ve even reached a point where people have said that we should stop protecting and advocating for key and vulnerable populations altogether because, they say, “everyone is vulnerable”.

But I am a defender of human rights in Cameroon and the work to defend the rights of communities in all their diversity goes on.

*Article 347-1 of the Penal Code | **Article 83 | ^Article 2, paragraph 3

*REACh is a Frontline AIDS programme which combined emergency response for communities affected by human rights crises with longer-term investment in human rights monitoring and advocacy. It worked with national organisations and networks in West and Southern Africa, including Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa, and ran from 2023-2025 with funding from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.