The World Bank has postponed a loan of 90 million dollars (65 million euros) intended for health care in Uganda, because that country recently passed a controversial law on punishing homosexuals, it was announced today in Washington.
"We have postponed the loan until we are sure that the goals of health development will not be jeopardized after the entry into force of the new law," said World Bank spokesman David Theis.
Ugandan President Joveri Museveri signed the austerity law into law on Monday sanction to homosexuals.
Despite the national neutrality of the World Bank, the president of the bank, Jim Yong Kim, stated that the World Bank opposes any discrimination.
The decision to postpone the loan was made at the initiative of Norway and Denmark.
The US, which gives Uganda $400 million in aid every year, has said it will review its decision this year.
Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under colonial-era laws, but the new anti-gay law, passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament on December 20, 2013, stiffens penalties and provides life imprisonment for repeat offenders.
In a country where homophobia is widespread, the new law prohibits the "promotion" of homosexuality and obliges citizens to report anyone who openly declares themselves to be homosexual.
A seven-year prison sentence is also prescribed for a person who "leads the wedding ceremony" of same-sex partners.
The lawmaker who proposed the bill said the tougher regulations were necessary because Western homosexuals threaten to destroy families and "recruit" Ugandan children for homosexuality.
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