The Norwegian Government has called on various stakeholders in the country, including government to protect the LGBTI+ community and involve them on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Norwegian Deputy Minister of International Development Stine Renate Håheim made the call when she hosted representatives from the Malawi Government, development partners, members of civil society and advocates of SRHR and LGBTI+ on Wednesday evening. She said while the world has seen tremendous achievements on SRHR and the LGBTI + community, there are now forces that are very strong, well-financed and well organized that want to push back this agenda.
She said the Norwegian government will not let any vulnerable group behind, but will embrace them to be part of the development policies at any time. “We also know that economic growth depends on using all the resources in the society and therefore we cannot afford people not getting access to health care, and basic human rights and not being able to live their life being who they are and loving who they want. “We are of course engaged on a broad spectra of development issues in Malawi.
We focus on food security, broadening health but I mean there is no contradiction helping the most vulnerable populations and ensuring that every human being get their basic human rights,” he said. Representing the Civil Society in Malawi, Executive Director for the Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) Gift Trapence called for the review and repeal of criminal laws that perpetrate violence against LGBTI + individuals in Malawi. “The HIV policy speaks to the inclusion of key populations including LGBTI + individuals meaning that when we have resources we need to reach to everyone regardless of sexual orientation.
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“As a country we have struggled with the protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons from violence and access to justice and making sure health service providers are able to offer friendly services take out the American Government funding cut.,” he said. During the 50th Session of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in Switzerland that Lilongwe said had put in place measures to protect the community. But during the UPR, Ministry of Justice director of legislative drafting services Amani Mussa said there is a national discourse on this issue and that government remained committed to engaging all stakeholders in an inclusive and respectful manner.
Notwithstanding the Penal Code, which criminalises same sex relations, he said government ensures that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, have access to essential services, including health care services. On decriminalisation of same-sex offences, Mussa conceded that this was a complex and sensitive subject that required broad national consultation and dialogue among various stakeholders. In a June 2024 judgement, the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court upheld the criminalisation of same-sex relationships, affirming the constitutionality of contentious provisions in the Penal Code.
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