Noticias

Evidence in Action: Effective Community-Led HIV Interventions for GMT Individuals

In conjunction with the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), 17 May, amfAR’s GMT Initiative is pleased to launch a new report documenting findings from its three-year Evidence in Action project.

Over the past six years, amfAR’s GMT initiative has provided small grants to over 180 grassroots HIV organizations led by gay men, other men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender individuals (collectively, GMT) in in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. SOMOSGAY, as one of these grantees, developed highly effective programming for accessing, testing, and treating GMT individuals.

In Paraguay and Latin America, gay and bisexual men, as well as other men who have sex with men (MSM) are more affected by HIV, primarily because of the social homophobia and stigma, that prevent access to appropriate information focused on their needs, and also due to the rejection and stigma suffered by this population when it comes to health services, where the environment is commonly hostile and unfriendly due to the institutionalized homophobia and discrimination.

SOMOSGAY, thanks to the support of amfAR, was the first community-based organization in the country to offer the service of counseling, voluntary testing, diagnosis and treatment of STIs and referral of HIV+ cases to the support networks of people living with HIV, along with peer counseling, condoms and water-based lubricants. The VCT, established in 2011, is focused primarily on facilitating access for gay men, one of the most affected groups by HIV. We also seek to find early diagnosis and ensure full access to treatment and care for HIV.

The report is available in English and Spanish.

About amfAR

In the course of its 25-year history, amfAR has invested more than $366 million in its programs, spawning numerous significant advances in HIV prevention, treatment and care. These accomplishments have helped extend, improve, and save the lives of countless people around the world living with HIV/AIDS or vulnerable to HIV infection.