Tanzanian gays targeted and cut off from healthcare

Gay Tanzanian activist Tee, 34, recalls with nostalgia a time when Tanzania was like "paradise" for LGBT people -- before the 2015 election of President John Magufuli ushered in fear and persecution.

It's all relative. Tanzania has long criminalised same-sex relations, and social stigma has always existed, but under previous governments homosexuality was not a public discussion.

The country was slowly making progress by including the LGBT community in discussions on healthcare and the fight against HIV/Aids.

"In those days Tanzania was like paradise... We were enjoying our life, people were going out, hanging out in bars, having meetings, public events, without fearing anyone. We were able to participate in government meetings," Tee told AFP during an interview in neighbouring Kenya, using a pseudonym out of fear for his safety.

"But now you can't even dare. Now we have to hide ourselves."
"Manufactured threats around the so-called 'promotion of homosexuality' have displaced best practices and evidence-based approaches in guiding HIV policy in Tanzania."