Meet a Friendly
Rectal Microbicide Advocate
Freshly updated as of February 3,2012!
Special thanks to IRMA Intern Britt Swenson for preparing these bios. If you would like to be featured as one of our next friendly rectal microbicide advocates, send us a note to rectalmicro@gmail.com and we will follow up with you. Thanks!
Check out our alphabetized Advocate Archive for previous featured advocates.
Stefan Baral
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
“Though linked geographically, there is extreme diversity in the dynamics of transmission of HIV and potential structural interventions to mitigate transmission. Let the local community lead the way in terms of messaging and strategy, and progress will be made while staying on terra firma.”
Stefan Baral is an IRMA advocate from Baltimore, Maryland. He is a physician, epidemiologist and researcher on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focused on creating more community tailored programs, services, and policies for different communities throughout the world.
Stefan first became involved with IRMA while preparing for the Project ARM - Africa for Rectal Microbicides meeting in Addis Ababa this past December, in conjunction with ICASA. He says it was a natural partnership given the communities he works with across Africa, and believes the meeting got a great start on developing a plan for increased advocacy around rectal microbicides and the accessibility of condom-compatible lubricants. He is excited for everything to be moving forward!
He believes rectal microbicides are such a promising new prevention technology due to encouraging evidence from early studies and the likelihood that people would use them. He is hopeful that rectal microbicides will be in the form of a lubricant to increase the chance that people will use them during anal intercourse.
Stefan is also an advocate for other evidence-based prevention strategies. He loves researching them and advocating for those in which he sees potential. Though he believes rectal microbicides will likely be an important prevention strategy moving forward, he says it is crucial to implement services and strategies in the meantime that are already supported by evidence. He also realizes that though advocacy is key in the fight against HIV/AIDS, service provision is just as important to fully serve different communities.
His advice for combatting stigma associated with standing up for rectal microbicides is short, but important: “Focus on the evidence.”
Thanks Stefan, for all that you do!
Olumide Makanjuola
Lagos, Nigeria
“Rectal microbicides are a very important new prevention technology. They bring attention to anal intercourse and provide protection for those who practice it, regardless of their sexual identities.”
Olumide is an IRMA advocate from Lagos, Nigeria. He works at TIERs (The Initiative for Equal Rights) for the rights of LGBT people and sexual health rights. He loves his job and the inspiring people he works with.
Olumide first became involved with IRMA when he visited the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) for a week and worked with the IRMA crew (IRMA is housed at AFC.). He joined the IRMA listserv and has since been following the conversations and information shared by members every day. At first he was not sure how this would be helpful to the people he serves in Nigeria, but now he says he sees how valuable rectal mircobicides can be for the gay/MSM community and others who practice anal intercourse.
Olumide was excited to participate in the Project ARM - Africa for Rectal Microbicides meeting held in Addis Ababa this past December, in conjunction with ICASA, which brought together so much expertise and many different community perspectives to help design a road map for rectal microbicides in Africa. He says that it is a long road ahead and implementation of the agenda will be difficult, but he is confident and knows Project ARM’s goals are “surely achievable.”
Throughout his career as an advocate he has faced much stigma and discrimination; anyone standing up for the MSM or LGBT communities in Nigeria does. Sometimes in Nigeria, people think IRMA is promoting homosexuality. Olumide has to fight this stigma as well.
His advice for IRMA is to continue promoting and educating people about rectal microbicides in Africa at the grassroots level, as the Project ARM meeting concluded.
Thanks Olumide, for all that you do!
[Posted February 2012]
Alliance Nikuze
Stockholm, Sweden
“We are more than 7 billion people on this planet; we surely don’t and can’t have one way of having sexual intercourse. Our diversity is our wealth. Our sexuality as human beings is not supposed to be defined by the available prevention tools but all the HIV prevention tools have to be adapted to our sexuality.”
Alliance is an IRMA advocate who grew up in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. She since moved to Kigali, Rwanda where she has worked and studied, and is currently pursuing a public health degree in Sweden. She is actively involved in the discussions around HIV prevention research.
Alliance’s primary advocacy has been centered on female empowerment and prevention tools which could prevent penile-vaginal transmission, but she has become increasingly interested in the need for rectal microbicides as well. While involved in efforts to engage civil society organizations in medical male circumcision rollout, she became more aware of different sexual practices- particularly anal intercourse. She then heard of IRMA at the Microbicides 2010 conference in Pittsburgh and decided to become an advocate to meet others with a similar interest in rectal microbicides. She has been satisfied beyond her expectations!
Alliance advocates for both male and female use of rectal microbicides. Recently she had what she calls a “wake up call” while talking with a few African women who indicated they really enjoyed anal intercourse. Previously she had believed that women only did this to please their male partners. This exchange reinforced her understanding that women all over Africa need rectal microbicides in order to help prevent HIV.
Alliance attended IRMA's Project ARM - Africa for Rectal Microbicides meeting in Addis Ababa this past December, in conjunction with ICASA, and was excited about the opportunity for everyone there to shape the advocacy and research agenda for rectal microbicides in Africa. She hopes Project ARM will help to dispel the marginalization and discrimination towards those who practice anal intercourse in Africa.
Her advice for HIV prevention advocates is to keep expanding our prevention toolbox. She believes that if you are truly committed to ending HIV, why wouldn’t you stand up for rectal microbicides? If we continue talk about them whenever we can, it will help lessen the stigma, and each time you may be saving someone’s life. She hopes IRMA can reach out to more policy makers, researchers, and advocates so that they know about rectal microbicides and can add them to their discourse and agenda.
In her free time she enjoys reading, watching TV, and spending time with friends and family.
Thanks Alliance for all that you do!
[Posted February 2012]
George Victor Owino
Nairobi, Kenya
“You should try being an IRMA advocate; you will love the energy and drive you get from it. If you can say rectal microbicides to over 100 people, you can sell anything to anyone on this earth!”
George is an IRMA advocate from Nairobi, Kenya. There he is the Project Coordinator and Health Educator at Ishtar MSM - a community based organization whose mission is to attain full sexual health rights and social well being for MSM in Kenya. He is also a Board Member at GALCK - the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya. His passions are to advocate for and research issues surrounding access to stigma and discrimination free healthcare for the LGBTI community, environmental conservation, and human rights in general. He also loves to watch horse racing!
He first became familiar with IRMA when a colleague sent him the application to apply for a scholarship to the Project ARM - Africa for Rectal Microbicides meeting in Addis Ababa this past December, in conjunction with ICASA. He was one of 16 people chosen and was surprised to see how vibrant the rectal microbicide movement in Africa had become! He had heard of rectal microbicides and IRMA before, but said he was not aware that such support existed for them in Africa.
George believes rectal microbicides are important to include in a comprehensive approach to combating HIV. He frequently hears stories of condoms bursting and allergies to latex in his work, and he thinks rectal microbicides would be able to help a lot in these situations. “A rectal microbicide would give human beings the power to have safer sex, protect themselves and their partners from infection, and reduce new infection and re-infection,” he said.
He talks about rectal microbicides any time he has the opportunity. He believes that we all have to integrate them into open forum discussion more to help lessen the stigma that surrounds them. The best way to deal with stigma is to face it head on.
Thanks George for all that you do!
[Posted February 2012]
Eva Westley
Chicago, IL, USA
“The fact is, lots and lots of people have anal sex, and rectal microbicides just make sense in this context. This isn’t about being gay or straight or kinky or conservative. This is about the fact that people have sex in many different ways for many different reasons and everyone deserves to protect themselves and their partners from HIV and other STIs.”
Eva is an IRMA advocate from Minneapolis, MN who now lives and works in Chicago. She is a grant writer at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) - home of IRMA and Project ARM. Her efforts are a big reason IRMA and its initiatives, such as Project ARM, get funding to survive and thrive! Before this she was a Latin American Health Policy major and has travelled extensively through the region. She loves fried plantains, being a yoga teacher, and her book club!
Eva first became involved with IRMA as a grantwriting intern at AFC. She worked with Jim Pickett on a few IRMA grants and realized what an amazing advocacy group IRMA was! She has been on the listserv and looking for more ways to be involved since. Most recently, Eva attended the Project ARM meeting in Addis Ababa and provided critical on-the-ground logistics support. She says the meeting was successful beyond her expectations.
She is an advocate of rectal microbicides because the prevention options available today are not enough to protect everybody. “Rectal microbicides are important among new HIV prevention technologies not only because they would add to the diversity of prevention options, but because they would give people a way to protect themselves and their partners by building on a behavior that people already use during anal sex. Since a rectal microbicide might be developed as a lubricant, gel, or douche- and we know many people having anal sex use these types of products- they might be more acceptable prevention options,” she says. She also mentions that using these products could make anal intercourse more pleasurable, so adding rectal microbicides to them could really be very ideal!
Eva creates awareness of rectal microbicides by educating IRMA funders about their crucial role in combating HIV. She knows how important money is in the development of biomedical technologies and is excited about her role working with the key institutions that can provide it. Through AFC she also submits funding proposals for other great projects, such as female condoms, syringe exchanges, prevention justice advocacy, and more!
Eva encourages everyone to become an IRMA advocate. She says it is one of the most inspiring and rewarding aspects of her career, and she learns new things almost every day by reading the listserv. She understands that many people could face some stigma for supporting IRMA and rectal microbicides, but she knows it won’t go away until we keep talking about it and the world acknowledges sexual diversity. Her final advice for advocates: “Shine on, rectal stars!”
Thanks Eva for all that you do.
Abimbola Onigbango Williams
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
“Rectal microbicides are an important priority that need to be fully explored to provide males and females who engage in anal sex a way to protect themselves from HIV and perhaps other sexually related infections.”
Abimbola is an IRMA advocate from Lagos, Nigeria. There she is a public health researcher and advocate. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and is currently a Fulbright Scholar/ Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At Johns Hopkins her fellowship is focused on Public Health and Policy Management with an emphasis on Health Systems Strengthening.
Abimbola first became involved with IRMA when she attended the Project ARM meeting in Addis in December. The meeting gave her the opportunity to understand new ideas and perspectives on how to integrate anal health and rectal microbicides into her work as a researcher and advocate. It was also a great place to find common ground with meeting participants from all over the world on issues related to rectal microbicides. She thought the meeting was a huge success and left feeling inspired!
She believes rectal microbicides are a top priority, and we need to dedicate more time and resources to their development. She is already creating a greater awareness of rectal microbicides by educating individuals and key stakeholders through advocacy visits, information sharing, and helping them disseminate research materials.
Her advice to other IRMA advocates is to keep up the robust discussion on the listserv and continue advocating for healthy anal intercourse regardless of peoples’ sexual orientations. She also has a great tactic for combating stigma she faces for standing up for rectal microbicides. She first tries to educate people about health and anal health to create a safe space for a healthy discussion. Then, she brings up the idea of rectal microbicides. She finds this is especially helpful if someone isn’t very familiar with anal intercourse.
In her free time she loves travelling, playing badminton, and knitting.
Thanks Abimbola for all that you do!
[Posted February 2012]
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