World Bank lifts suspension for new lending to Uganda following talks

June 5, 2025 in Finance by Editor

The World Bank says it cannot deliver on its mission to end poverty and boost shared prosperity on a liveable planet unless all people can participate in, and benefit from, the projects we finance.

The World Bank has lifted a 21-month suspension of new lending to Uganda, following assurances that the government will not discriminate based on sexual orientation in the implementation of World Bank-funded projects.

On Wednesday, a World Bank source quoted by several agencies including Reuters, Bloomberg and AFP said, “The World Bank worked with the government and other stakeholders in the country to introduce, implement and test measures that prevent discrimination in World Bank-funded projects. Consequently, the Bank has prepared new projects in sectors with significant development needs.”

According to Open for Business, an NGO that promotes LGBTQ+ rights across the world, Uganda lost between $586 million and $2.4 billion a year because of the AHA law.

In August 2023, President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA). This spelt out severe penalties, including life imprisonment and the death penalty for same-sex relations. Soon after, the World Bank suspended lending to Uganda.

When announcing the suspension in 2023, the World Bank said in a statement, ‘Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are currently under discussion with the Uganda authorities.  No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested.’

The source said on Wednesday, “All new projects have the mitigations measures embedded in them. The World Bank cannot deliver on its mission to end poverty and boost shared prosperity on a liveable planet unless all people can participate in, and benefit from, the projects we finance.”