Aids Still Kills: Treatment for All. Marching in Solidarity

Published: July 20, 2016

By Niluka Perera It was my first time joining a march at an AIDS conference and it was overwhelming. Over 8000 activists from South Africa and around the world took to the road and marched to the International Convention Center from King Dinuzulu park yesterday 18th July on the first day of the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban. The …

No More Lip Service: A Demand for PrEP Access from the Transgender Community

Published: July 20, 2016

No More Lip Service: A Demand for PrEP Access from the Transgender Community By Brian Kanyemba For the first time ever, the program for the International AIDS Conference has included a pre-conference focused on transgender people called No More Lip service:  Trans Access, Equity and Rights, Now!  The program brought together global trans people and activists from Peru, Malaysia, Thailand, …

PrEP Around the World: What are the Next Steps on PrEP Provision to the MSM Community?

Published: July 20, 2016

by Brian Kanyemba The MSMGF AIDS 2016 Pre-Conference Action+ Access: Rights and Demands of Gay and Bisexual Men in the Global HIV Response in Durban, South Africa came at a very import time in the discussions around PrEP roll out among MSM in different communities and countries globally. Different presenters in different sessions expounded their discussion around PrEP focusing from …

VIDEOS From AIDS2016: Inside the Massive HIV Treatment Access March

Published: July 19, 2016

By Mark S. King www.MyFabulousDisease.com Twitter @MyFabDisease I am a gay man with health insurance living in the United States, which means I have access to HIV medications if I need them. In the global scheme of things, that makes me an enormously privileged person. My privilege is something that always strikes me square across the head when I attend …

MSMGF Releases Strategic Plan for 2016-2021: Community Action, Sexual Health and Rights

Published: July 19, 2016

Immediately following, an all-day meeting to discuss the future strategic direction of the organization, MSMGF’s (the Global Forum on MSM & HIV) International Steering Committee and Board of Directors released their new Strategic Plan for 2016-2021 titled: Community Action, Sexual Health & Rights. Over the past 10 years, MSMGF has worked closely with partners from around the world to develop …

Focusing on the Legal, Social and Policy Barriers to HIV Services for Key Populations

Published: July 18, 2016

Durban, South Africa – In an official press conference today at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, researchers and community representatives discussed the impact of discriminatory laws and policies in many parts of the world that hinder access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care for the populations most at risk of HIV infection – men who have …

Human Rights and Gender Based Violence

Published: July 18, 2016

by Michael Clark Deeply ingrained cultural gender norms put the lives of trans and non-gender conforming people at risk for discrimination, violence and other violations of human rights. The three panelists the “Human Rights and Gender Based Violence” session of the No More Lip Service, Trans Access, Equality & Rights Now pre-conference highlighted research in the United States and Kenya. …

Tech Sex: The Role of Digital Technologies In Relation to the HIV Response

Published: July 18, 2016

by Charlie Tredway This was one of the most exciting break-out sessions of the MSMGF pre-conference for me, as it explored the HIV response in this new tech savvy time, finding creative and forward thinking ways to reach communities about key messages of testing and sexual health. First, Kevin Brian Rebe from ANOVA Health Institute in South Africa who spoke …

Intersections of Sexuality, Human Rights, Health, Migration and Race

Published: July 18, 2016

LGBT Migrant Key Populations In the Global HIV Response by Michael Clark The session began with a few “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm” when discussing the global HIV response in terms of migration and HIV. Nearly 40% of people diagnosed with HIV in Europe are migrants. Of those, 53% of them come from Sub Saharan Africa. As migrants, they …

Charlie Tredway: First Impressions and First Break Out Session

Published: July 17, 2016

This was my first time attending the International AIDS conference and straight out of the gate the MSMGF pre-conference set the tone for what I think will be a focus for the duration of the conference. That is calling bullshit where we see it. There a parallel epidemic of blue sky, magical thinking and one stop solutions and simple target …

Mark S. King’s First Video From the MSMGF Pre-Conference!

Published: July 17, 2016

Gay Men at AIDS2016 Talk Stigma, Chem Sex and PrEP Drug Smuggling The most stunning facet of the MSM pre-conference (“Gay Day”) at AIDS2016, sponsored by MSMGF, was that so many of the gay men in attendance had the courage to show up at all. Held Saturday, the gathering featured hundreds of gay HIV advocates, including those from countries in …

Durban MSMGF Pre-Conference Recap: Action + Access

Published: July 17, 2016

Hello from the 12th International AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa! The brightest minds are already swirling with ideas, the halls are littered with publications and flyers and the amount of information being shared is already overwhelming after just two days of pre-conferences. There are endless highlights to report and the official conference has not even begun. There is no …