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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Sarah Johnson

Countries that criminalise gay sex are impeding fight against Aids, UN warns

A person lights candles around a large red ribbon on the ground
A candlelit red ribbon ahead of World Aids Day in Kathmandu, India on 30 November. A life is lost to the disease every minute. Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

Anti-homosexuality laws stop people from accessing lifesaving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV, a senior UN official has said.

Sixty-seven countries have laws that criminalise gay sex, and nearly half are in Africa, the continent most affected by HIV. In those countries, prevalence rates are about five times higher among gay men than in countries where same-sex relations are not criminalised, according to figures from UNAids.

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