Trans Youth Initiative Uganda (TYI-Uganda)

Last week, we made history. TYI-Uganda, in collaboration with @transforumug and @UKPC_UG hosted THE STATE OF TRANS SRHR IN UGANDA 2026, the first national conference in Uganda to address trans health across HIV, TB, malaria, and SRHR. 4–5 March | Kampala Trans and gender-diverse people from all four regions of Uganda came together to document health barriers, share what’s working, and build consensus on what we need from the health system. Our evidence. Our voices. Our asks. On Day 2, we presented our findings directly to UNAIDS, Ministry of Health program leads, TASO Uganda, HRAPF, and development partners. For the first time, trans and gender-diverse communities sat at the table with the program leaders and spoke with one voice. What we produced: • The first community-generated evidence base on trans health in Uganda • Regional findings from Central, Western, Eastern, and Northern Uganda • Priority recommendations to MoH across HIV, TB, malaria, and SRHR • A Community Position Paper (coming soon) There is no disaggregated data on trans health in Uganda. Not in HIV, not in TB, and not in malaria.That changes now. Thank you to our partners: @UKPC_UG @hrapf_uganda, Ark Wellness Hub, Ice Breakers Uganda, Alive Medical Services,UHAI-EASHRI, LINK Partners, and every trans and gender-diverse institution that showed up. And to every trans and gender-diverse person who shared their story, you are the reason this exists. This is not the end; it is the beginning. Follow-up is in progress. The Community Position Paper will be released within four weeks. Accountability reviews will occur at 1, 3, and 6 months. This work is implemented under the Gender Equality Fund, an initiative established by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in partnership with GSK and ViiVHealthcare to support gender-transformative and community-led health responses. Nothing about us, without us. #TransHealthUganda #TransSRHR #95-95-95 #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #GlobalFund #TransRightsAreHealthRights

On October 9, 1962, Uganda gained independence from British colonial rule. Today, 64 years later, we commemorate that historic achievement while confronting a difficult question: What does independence mean when some of the legal instruments once used to control colonized populations continue to shape the lives of Ugandans today? Independence transferred political authority to Ugandan hands. But it did not automatically dismantle the legal, institutional, and social structures inherited from colonial rule. Uganda's 1995 Constitution, under Article 274, provided for the continuation of existing laws, subject to necessary modifications to bring them into conformity with the Constitution. Among these inherited laws was the Penal Code Act of 1950, which included provisions criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct and was rooted in British colonial legal traditions. These provisions were not an expression of a timeless African consensus. They were part of a colonial legal architecture that regulated bodies, sexuality, morality, and social belonging. Yet decolonization cannot be reduced to the origins of our laws. The deeper question is not simply who introduced these laws, but who continues to defend, reproduce, and expand their restrictions today. The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 reminds us that contemporary forms of exclusion cannot be attributed solely to colonialism. They also reflect deliberate political choices made in independent Uganda. At Trans Youth Initiative–Uganda, we believe genuine independence must extend beyond national sovereignty to encompass bodily autonomy, gender self-determination, economic justice, freedom from violence, and equal protection under the law. For rural transgender women, transgender sex workers, and gender-diverse communities, freedom remains incomplete when identity becomes a source of criminalization, when healthcare is inaccessible, when livelihoods are threatened, and when living authentically carries the risk of violence or exclusion. We honor the generations who struggled to end colonial rule. Their pursuit of self-determination challenges us to ask whose freedom remains unfinished. Decolonization is not merely the removal of foreign rulers. It is the ongoing responsibility to dismantle systems of domination, including those maintained by our own institutions. As Uganda celebrates 64 years of independence, we call for a renewed national commitment to constitutionalism, human dignity, bodily autonomy, equality, and justice for every Ugandan. Our sovereignty should empower us to build laws that protect our people, not preserve or deepen systems of exclusion. Uganda became independent in 1962. The work of making freedom meaningful for everyone continues. Happy 64th Independence Day, Uganda. Political independence was a beginning. Liberation remains our collective responsibility. — Trans Youth Initiative–Uganda (TYI-Uganda) #UgandaAt64 #IndependenceDay2026 #DecoloniseTheLaw #HumanRights #TransRightsAreHumanRights #BodilyAutonomy #GenderJustice #TYIUganda