The MSMGF has successfully produced three pre-conference satellite events on MSM and HIV at the IAC in 2004, 2006, and 2008, participated in several global and regional consultations, and has and continues to engage funders and policy makers including UNAIDS, UNDP, amfAR, the World Bank, the Global Fund, and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Listed below are notes on more of our specific activities:
This document details the current context for the development and implementation of HIV prevention efforts targeting MSM, provides an overview of current MSM-specific HIV prevention strategies, and offers a look at recent recommendations of global health institutions. Recommendations emphasize the importance of respecting the role of MSM in efforts to determine research, policy, and program priorities, as well as other core principles of practice that are often overlooked in policy discussions.
HIV Prevention with MSM: Balancing Evidence with Rights-based Principles of Practice (pdf)
(Low Resolution Version) (pdf)
Released on May 17, 2010, the International Day Against Homophobia, this document is a review of established linkages between social discrimination against MSM and vulnerability to HIV. A set of recommendations to better address the HIV epidemic in the context of social exclusion and human rights abuses is provided.
Social Discrimination Against MSM: Implications for HIV Policy and Programs (pdf)
In mid-2009 the MSMGF conducted a multilingual survey both online and on paper at major regional conferences to determine what structure and content would be most valuable to MSM Pre-Conference participants. A total of 466 respondents took part in the survey, with 424 working in the global south and 137 working in the global north (some respondents reported working in more than one region). Following its conclusion in December, the survey’s results have continued to serve as the MSMGF’s primary reference document as we design the program for the event.
Read the report! (pdf)
The event featured rousing speeches from MSMGF Executive Director Dr. George Ayala, MSMGF Co-Chair and President of Morocco’s Association de Lutte Contre le Sida Maroc (ALCS) Othman Mellouk, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA).
See photos of the event!
The MSMGF is pleased to announce the launch of a new policy brief, Reaching Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in the Global HIV & AIDS Epidemic. This document provides an introduction to HIV among gay men and other MSM and identifies key strategic areas that are essential to turning the tide of the epidemic.
Reaching MSM in the Global HIV and AIDS Epidemic - February, 2010 (pdf)
(high-resolution version for printing) (pdf)
Full report coming soon!
The MSMGF's official affiliated event of the 2008 International AIDS Conference. This is the third consecutive affiliated international conference event presented by the MSMGF and produced by AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) – home to the MSMGF’s Secretariat. The event examined how insufficient global research on HIV and MSM contributes to a dearth of HIV prevention, treatment and care resources targeting our unique needs. Researchers, community-based experts and human rights advocates from around the world presented workshops on topics including new research from the Caribbean on MSM and vulnerabilities, advocacy in Central America, case examples of policy reform from Asia and Latin America, HIV prevention for male sex workers in Mombassa, and much, much more.
To see the presentations, posters, and plenary session speeches, visit our Invisible Men Pre-Conference Event page!
Steering Committee Members of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV met for two days in Mexico City. Objectives for the meeting included establishing: (1) a common understanding and agreement of Global Forum structure and governance; (2) agreement on broad outline for the satellite and the way forward; and (3) clarity on funding opportunities for MSM and HIV. Meeting attendees included funding and international partners as well as newly appointed steering committee members from Africa, Central America, and Europe. After some discussion, the steering committee decided to replace the term members with participants and funding partners would be referred to as strategic partners. Read the full reports/minutes.
In order to help ensure strong representation of MSM issues at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, the MSMGF established a Technical Assistance Team to provide technical support to individuals who planned to submit MSM-related abstracts to be presented at the main conference. A total of 12 abstracts were submitted from countries all over the world, including Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Samoa, and Canada.
We are very pleased to report that of those participants who completed our evaluation, three fourths had their abstracts accepted into the main conference! Congratulations to everyone who presented their work at the conference and a big thank you to the members of our Technical Assistance Team!
If you would like to learn more about this process,
Jennifer Toller Erausquin, one of our Team members, presented the model to
the HIV Research: The Next Generation Conference. Her presentation,
Promoting International Conference Participation by Global HIV/AIDS Colleagues, has the details.
In July 2007 the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) invited The Forum to serve as its principal strategic partner and advisor for its new global MSM funding initiative. The Forum agreed to assist amfAR in convening regional consultations and to advise on grant giving. They have just completed a consultation in the Caribbean in preparation for their first grant making process. Forum Steering Committee Member Robert Carr was in attendance at the consultation and was able to share some background information about The Forum with attendees.