The date May 17 was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. There has been some progress since this day was first celebrated in 2004. We are proud to see that countries in the hemisphere have taken concrete steps toward the elimination of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex (LGBTQI+) persons in the past year. Education, awareness-raising and dialogue have helped tremendously in addressing stereotypes and prejudice against LGBTQI+ persons and we encourage Guyana to join regional partners to continue these efforts.
