by Mike PetersIRMA Intern A couple of weeks ago, I returned to Ohio for a weekend excursion.  The director of the Women’s Studies program at my university informed me that I was named Graduate Student of the Year for Women’s Studies and that there was a short awards ceremony that I should attend.  In preparation for this Read More >>

As many of our readers  know – in December IRMA, the Microbicide Trials Network, and Population Council launched the video “The Rectal Revolution is Here: An introduction to rectal microbicide clinical trials.” The 14-minute video includes researchers, advocates, and trial participants and discusses the need for rectal microbicides and the role of clinical trials in developing products Read More >>

Have you and/or your organization endorsed the Global Call to Action on Lubricant Safety yet? (lists or endorsers in formation below.) We are going to be closing the call soon, so please make your move on lube safety NOW. Click here to read the Call and to endorse. We must KNOW whether water-based and silicone-based lubricants used during sex Read More >>

Our friends at AIDS Accountability International (AAI), in conjunction with The African Union Commission (AUC), recognised the need for greater African civil society organisation representation in the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) process. So, tt was decided to create the African Common Position (ACP) on ICPD to reflect and include the perspectives, recommendations and expertise of Read More >>

IRMA*, amfAR*, and AVAC* are delighted to announce that IRMA Nigeria (in partnership with International Center on Advocacy for the Right to Health), Stop AIDS in Liberia (SAIL), and an organisation in Zambia** have been awarded Global Lube Access Mobilisation (GLAM) funding to campaign for access to safe, condom-compatible lubricants in their communities. Throughout the world, and Read More >>

Have you or your organization endorsed the Global Call to Action Demanding Answers on Lubricant Safety? Since Valentine’s Day, 140 organizations and 293 individuals in nearly fifty countries have endorsed the call to action – and numbers continue to grow! Please add your name if you haven’t already. Full lists of endorsers is below. Background: Recent studies Read More >>

by Mike PetersIRMA intern Another Christmas season has come and gone and like most Americans, the season ended for me with a gym membership (that I will admittedly abandon before the end of January) and reflection on the often-awkward gathering of family members that Christmas-time usually drops at our feet. Christmas-time was a busy season for us Read More >>

viaThe Guardian by Sarah Boseley They are one of the world’s most beleaguered gay communities, brutalised by violence, hounded by a law that makes homosexual acts a crime and driven into the shadows in a country where four in five people admit they are homophobic. But now gay people in Jamaica are cautiously optimistic that change may Read More >>

[We are so proud of IRMA Steering Committee Larry Misedah – shown on the left in the pic below. His compelling story is a must-read. Of note, Larry will be joining a group of IRMA members in Addis Ababa this December for Project ARM – Africa for Rectal Microbicides organizing and strategizing activities taking place in advance Read More >>

Via Poz, by Regan Hofmann with Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. David Kuria works for the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya where he risks his life daily to provide safe sanctuary and advocacy for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Africa and around the world. Now, he is running for Kenya’s Senate. A Read More >>