BBC News: The World Bank says it is lifting a ban on loans to Uganda that it had put in place two years ago when the country passed a draconian new law against Gay Rights.
In 2023, Uganda voted in some of the world’s harshest anti-homosexual legislation meaning that anybody engaging in certain same-sex acts can be sentenced to death.
But the World Bank says it is confident that new “mitigation measures” will allow it to roll out funding in such a way that does not harm or discriminate against gay people.
Analysts say the World Bank is one of Uganda’s biggest sources of external financing, playing an important role in infrastructure development.
Road upgrades and widened electricity access are among the projects the organisation is backing in the East African country.
Uganda is among several African nations – including Ghana and Kenya – that in recent years have witnessed moves to curtail the rights of gay people.
Uganda’s government says its anti-gay law reflects the conservative values of its people, but its critics say the law is little more than a distraction from real issues such as high unemployment and ongoing attacks on the opposition.
