Posted by Lucile Scott on December 13, 2013
Recent research advances have added many exciting new tools to our arsenal of strategies for preventing HIV transmission among GMT; however, in many regions access to them and awareness about them remain limited. The GMT Initiative has created a series of fact sheets in English, French, and Spanish on these evolving prevention approaches that explain exactly what they are and how they can help provide the best and most comprehensive package of prevention services for GMT.
John Meletse, the outreach officer at Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) in South Africa, leading a workshop on HIV prevention in sign language.
The fact sheets also serve as a tool to advocate for the interventions’ increased availability. “The fact sheets will inform community leaders and activists about the importance of these new biomedical approaches to preventing HIV among GMT populations as they formulate their advocacy agendas,” says Kent Klindera, director of the GMT Initiative. They will be introduced at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) December 7–11, but apply to GMT and activists both in and outside Africa.
The four fact sheets discuss post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP); pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); the HIV treatment cascade; and screening and preventing HPV, genital warts, and anal cancer. None of these tools should be used as a person’s only prevention strategy, but in conjunction with other approaches, including condoms and lubricant, safer sex counseling, regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) check-ups and treatment, and regular HIV testing. Download the fact sheets today to learn more—and then distribute them widely.