New global forum to address HIV vulnerability of gay and other men who have sex with men

29 September 2006

The XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto in August saw an unprecedented focus on the HIV-related needs of gay and other men who have sex with men, leading to the creation of a new global forum to address the ongoing vulnerability and effect of HIV on this group. Globally, less than one in ten men who have sex with men have access to basic HIV prevention services and even fewer have access to care and support.

“Silence and invisibility combine to form a fatal cocktail for these men, who are disproportionately at risk of and affected by HIV” said Alliance senior policy adviser Joseph O’Reilly. “But fortunately various initiatives at the International AIDS Conference gave voice and visibility to the HIV needs of gay and other men who have sex with men.”

One such initiative was a pre-conference satellite event that the Alliance supported, Men who have sex with men & HIV: Advancing a Global Agenda for Gay Men and Other Men who have Sex with Men. Over 300 delegates heard that the international community's commitment to universal access provides a real opportunity to reverse this situation and to close the funding and services gap for men who have sex with men in developing countries.

However, delegates also heard that closing the funding and services gap will only solve part of the problem. Human rights violations against gay and other men who have sex with men – including arbitrary arrests, serious physical violence and even murder – increase their vulnerability to HIV and fuel new infections. Human rights abuses also follow infection, exacerbating the impact of HIV.

At the conclusion of the pre-conference event, AIDS activists, researchers and community representatives agreed to work to address these issues through a new Global Forum on men who have sex with men and HIV.

The forum, the first ever attempt to bring together gay and other men who have sex with men from both the North and South to respond to AIDS together, will coordinate a global response to the enormous gaps in funding and services that currently exist for men who have sex with men living with and at risk of HIV. It will marshal the efforts of individuals and organisations from all regions of the world to mobilise existing resources and to pressure governments and international bodies to scale up HIV funding and human rights protections for men who have sex with men.

Addressing the closing session of the event, Dr Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, pledged his personal, and UNAIDS’ organisational support for the forum and its work.

For more information, contact Joseph O’Reilly.