[Citizen News Service and IRMA are collaborating to amplify rectal microbicide research and advocacy, as well as IRMA-led initiatives, throughout AIDS 2012, and after.] via Citizen News Service, by Jittima Jantanamalaka Despite alarming HIV rates amongst the men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, many countries, community leaders, media and society at large continue Read More >>

via the Commission on HIV and the Law The end of the global AIDS epidemic is within our reach. This will only be possible if science and action are accompanied by a tangible commitment to respecting human dignity and ending injustice. Law prohibits or permits specific behaviours, and in so doing, it shapes politics, economics and society. Read More >>

via NPR, by Jason Beaubien Health officials in Kenya say reducing the transmission of HIV among gay men is a central part of their national AIDS strategy. But they face serious challenges, including the fact that homosexuality is still a crime in the East African nation. HIV rates among gay and bisexual men in Kenya are far Read More >>

via pisnews.net, by Monica Tabengwa Jun 14 2012 (IPS) – At a news conference shortly after she was sworn in as Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda announced her government’s intention to decriminalise homosexuality. It is unclear how she will achieve this, but the move is in stark contrast to the approach of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who Read More >>

via AllAfrica.com, by Gloria Nakiyimba World politicians meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, have agreed on the need to repeal laws discriminating against HIV/Aids which they say have contributed to an increase in the rate of new infections. MP’s at the Inter Parliamentary Union assembly said laws that criminalize transmission of HIV, laws against sexual workers and Read More >>

via IPS News, by Danilo Valladares Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people “face discrimination in health centres due to homophobia and transphobia, and do not receive treatment tailored to our needs. That’s why we still represent the largest number of cases of HIV,” Valdez told IPS. Among men who have sex with men in the country, 7.6 Read More >>

Via UNAIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the region most heavily affected by HIV, legal, policy and social barriers, including stigma, discrimination, gender inequality and the criminalization of key populations at higher risk of HIV infection, continue to make people vulnerable to HIV and hamper the ability of individuals, communities and states to respond to the epidemic. This was Read More >>

Via Next, by Gbenro Adeoye. The first case of HIV/AIDS in Lagos was reported in 1986, unlike the global stage, where it was first reported 30 years ago by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States among gay men. Since the discovery in Lagos which was also the first in Nigeria, HIV has Read More >>

Via AIDSMap, by Michael Carter. HIV epidemics are emerging among men who have sex with men (MSM) in a number of Middle Eastern and North African countries, an international team of investigators report in the online journal PLoSMedicine. Prevalence of HIV was as high as 28% among some populations of MSM in Pakistan, and in 2008 over Read More >>

Understanding the Drivers of Homophobia in Ghana Via PlusNews. Recent condemnation of homosexuality by religious and political leaders in Ghana has led to a climate of fear preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from accessing vital health services, say local NGOs. The minister of Ghana’s Western Region, Paul Evans Aidoo, publicly described homosexuality as “detestable Read More >>