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Trump’s aid withdrawal leaves Namibia’s LGBTQI+ community in the dark

Trump’s aid withdrawal leaves Namibia’s LGBTQI+ community in the dark

In the wake of United States (US) president Donald Trump’s USAID funding freeze, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other (LGBTQI+) community in Namibia and other African countries fear the reversal of the progress they have made in their fight for recognition.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding freeze immediately halted any monetary support from the US government to initiatives in other countries.

This includes HIV prevention, legal assistance, education initiatives on subjects such as gender discrimination and LGBTQI+ identities, and access to safe and inclusive healthcare.

In addition, those working for these initiatives are facing looming unemployment.

Omar van Reenen, an LGBTQI+ activist and co-founder of Equal Namibia, said the freeze came without warning.

“These projects help the community to understand the legal landscape. It’s not about promoting homosexuality. It’s about helping people access healthcare and access justice,” they told The Namibian yesterday.

“People’s lives and livelihoods are on the line,” they warned.

“We worked with Intrahealth last year to allow people to order HIV testing kits directly on Grindr, a gay dating app, and have them be delivered to them anonymously. This project was the first of its kind in Africa. Usually members of the LGBTQI+ community would have to wait in line at clinics and often face discrimination. Now these vital services are being taken away because of the United States’ homo- and transphobic leadership.”

“This is going to be the United States’ demise on the foreign policy field,” Van Reenen said.

NEED FOR LOCAL SUPPORT

On the other hand, they said that it is time for African states to step up: “We feel uncomfortable relying on our own government if they cannot even do the bare minimum”.

“Countries in the Southern African Development Community, such as South Africa that portray themselves as stewards of human rights, need to begin stepping in. Civil societies in Namibia need to diversify their streams of income and perhaps it is time for Namibians themselves to start donating.”

Linda Baumann, a Namibian human rights activist, says US funding has been pivotal in advancing LGBTQI+ rights in Namibia, driving legal advocacy, fortifying community organisations, and expanding access to inclusive healthcare through initiatives like the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar).

“This support has not only empowered activists to engage on national, regional and global human rights platforms but has also fostered critical spaces for visibility and resilience within the community. However, the current freeze on funding directly impacts the sustainability of these efforts, limiting access to essential services and weakening organisational capacities,” Baumann states.

She argues that it is time for Namibian support of the LGBTQI+ community to become independent. She says the situation highlights the urgent need for locally driven, sustainable initiatives that can withstand external funding shifts and challenge the narrative that equal rights are externally imposed.

“Our fight for equality is rooted in the lived realities of Namibians, and it demands both local ownership and structural support to thrive.”

Brigit Loots, the national coordinator of the Sister Namibia Trust, says the funding freeze is a “devastating blow for all marginalised communities”.

“What I’m really worried about is all of the gender training that will no longer be given. People are being told to remove their pronouns from their emails now.”

“It’s a hard knock for all development. This is a really terrible time for all marginalised groups”, she said.

Loots voiced particular concern about Trump’s executive order titled ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’. The order requires agencies to “terminate any grants that promote gender ideology”.

“All the work we have done on gender-based violence prevention, on equal rights for all, on combating violence and discrimination – I’m not sure I know how to tackle these issues with the framework this directive expects,” Loots says.

“It’s also so vague. The LGBTI community needs all the support we can give them. The HIV programmes, the conservation programmes, so many [areas] are suffering – but I worry for the work on equal rights the most.”

OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Androgenius Alpha, a member of the LGBTQI+ community from Kenya, told The Namibian when they first heard about Trump’s decisions affecting LGBTQI+ rights, they were truly shocked.

“It felt as though all the progress we had fought so hard for was being undone, as if we were taking one step forward only to be pushed two steps backward. The setbacks were devastating, especially for those of us working tirelessly to improve the lives of LGBTQI+ individuals,” they say.

Alpha, who identifies as non-binary, says these decisions have directly impacted their work.

“Some of our funding was withdrawn, meaning that certain projects will have to be halted, which is incredibly disheartening. The ripple effects are profound, especially on the most vulnerable within our community. Our trans community, in particular, bears the brunt of these policies,” Alpha says.

Alpha adds that trans Kenyans face not only systemic discrimination, but also a lack of support from the highest levels of government.

They say in comparison to previous administrations, these policies feel like a sharp regression. “Under earlier leadership [in the US], we saw more strides toward inclusion and equality, even if the work wasn’t finished. Trump’s policies have set us back in ways that are hard to measure but impossible to ignore,” Alpha says.

EXPECTING VIOLENCE

Zambian human rights activist Theo Mubanga recalls their initial reaction to Trump’s decision.

“I was in shock for a few days; I didn’t want to process all the executive orders that he had made, and when I actually began to process, I saw how they directly impacted my community and myself.” They expressed concerned about the various programmes they had worked with addressing needs like sexual and reproductive healthcare provision for the LGBTQI+ community and the rights of sex workers.

“I know that we’re going to have a very hard time… Even though [Trump] reversed some of the life-saving aid to countries like mine, the family planning was scrapped, which will affect the sex worker community in Zambia,” they say.

Mubanga believes the Biden administration’s approach to LGBTQI+ rights was more positive, citing advancement in trans-related issues and acknowledgement of the community and minority groups in general.

They worry about the impact of the Trump administration.

“The next four years will take a very heavy toll on LGBTQI+ persons.”

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