An Open Letter to the World Health Organization for SOGIESC inclusive strategies in response to COVID-19

Published September 3, 2020
Language English

“Integrating a SOGIESC framework will contribute to our collective goal of addressing impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations and take us closer towards the goal of ‘leaving no one behind’ as envisioned by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

Join twenty civil society organisations in Asia Pacific — such as APCOM, Asia Pacific Transgender Network, Pink Alliance, ILGA Asia, International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific, Youth Voices Count — to sign on the open letter to WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urging WHO to include aspects of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) into their policies, programs and WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.


To sign the open letter, please send an email to Mei at APCOM (meiv@apcom.org) stating your full name, position, organisation, and territory



In this open letter, signatories ask the World Health Organization to:

  • Ensure that the challenges being faced by LGBTQI, MSM and people and communities of diverse SOGIESC during the COVID-19 pandemic will be given due attention, and policies, programs, and responses are inclusive and do not add to the exclusion and discrimination experienced by LGBTQI people, communities and families.
  • Integrate a SOGIESC-inclusive approach in their COVID-19 related guidance documents, situation reports, briefs, strategies and response.
  • Work closely with LGBTQI organizations and communities towards a more inclusive responses to the pandemic.