Ghana needs clear-cut health policy for gays – MP

Effutu Legislator Alex Afenyo-Markin says Ghana must declare her stance on homosexuality and also have a clear-cut policy to back that stance as far as accessing healthcare by gays is concerned.

Contributing to a statement read on the floor of Parliament by the health Minister on healthy living, Mr Afenyo-Markin warned that without such a policy, gays who contract anal diseases would shy away from accessing health care for fear of being stigmatised.

Ghana’s laws proscribe “unnatural carnal knowledge” and bestiality but are smudgy on homosexuality.

Afenyo-Markin believes a policy decision by the nation will bring clarity on the matter.

“Mr Speaker if we, as a nation, do not declare our stance and educate the young ones as to the risks in adopting some of these same sex attitudes, Mr Speaker, the youth of this country are going to suffer tomorrow because, Mr Speaker, if people are engaged in gayism and they contract anal related diseases and they cannot go their hospitals because they themselves feel shy to go; they feel stigmatised because we don’t have facilities there and then we have also not taken a policy decision to be an anti-gay nation”, the Legislator warned.

“Mr Speaker it is very serious. It will affect the people of Ghana”, he stressed.

He therefore urged the Ministry to have facilities at the various health centres to cater to the needs of gays.

Afenyo-Markin said Ghana cannot behave like an ostrich as far as the issue of gays are concerned since they are several gay night clubs in Ghana.

The Ghanaian Legislator’s concerns come on the heels of recent anti-gay laws passed by Ghana’s Wes African neighbor Nigeria as well as Uganda. .