A subregional consultation meeting on how HIV affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgenders (TG) will be held on 2-4 June 2009 in Surabaya, Indonesia. The meeting is hosted by GAYa NUSANTARA, an Indonesian NGO and research group. Countries that will be invited to participate are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, East Timor and Brunei. The meeting aims to bring together activists, public health professionals, scientists, HIV prevention program staff and experts as well as representatives of Governments of these countries, and discuss what we know about the HIV epidemic among MSM/TG and what lessons have been learned so far in trying to prevent HIV among MSM/TG; an additional focus is on how to increase uptake of counseling and testing and expand the provision of treatment, care and support for MSM living with HIV in these six countries.

The meeting, which is financially and technically supported by a coalition of agencies including UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, FHI and USAID [and Hivos through APCOM], aims to fulfill an important priority on the agenda of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), which aims to support forming subregional level coalitions of MSM/TG community representatives, donor agencies, advocates, activists and Governments. Such coalitions have been found effective in improving advocacy for more resources for MSM/TG in-country, for inclusion of MSM/TG in National AIDS Strategies and National AIDS Programs, for improved sharing of lessons learned and for coordinated and joint planning for scaling up responses.

'Currently, only a tiny minority of MSM/TG in the six countries in our subregion have access to HIV prevention services', says Dede Oetomo, who leads GAYa NUSANTARA, the host organization. "It is important to jointly review the HIV epidemic among MSM/TG, agree on a minimum necessary set of HIV prevention interventions, and start consultations between different stakeholders about how we can increase investment and coverage of interventions for MSM/TG."

The meeting aims to set in motion a process of subregional networking and joint advocacy efforts in the six countries of insular Southeast Asia, mirroring a similar process that was set in motion for the Greater Mekong Subregion since 2005. There, a subregional coalition of organizations working on MSM/TG and HIV was successful in putting this issue higher on the agenda of donor agencies and Governments, helped by the increased availability of HIV prevalence data in Thailand, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR.

"This remains a major gap in many countries of Insular Southeast Asia - there is no clear picture of how heavy the burden of HIV is on this group", said Rapeepun Jommaroeng of UNESCO Bangkok, which took the initiative for this meeting and supports Gaya Nusantara in the organization of the event, both financially and technically. "Without data indicating the severity of the epidemic, Governments and donor agencies may not take notice of the need to act."

Addy Chen of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+) welcomed the meeting, focusing on the need to improve access to antiretroviral treatment for MSM/TG. "Under the current circumstances, only a minority of MSM/TG who are living with HIV are aware of their HIV status. We need to scale up access to voluntary counseling and testing services that are friendly to MSM/TG and which are truly anonymous and confidemtial, as a first step towards enrolling more MSM/TG in antiretroviral treatment programs."

The Chairman of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), Shivananda Khan, welcomed the meeting. "There is a need to share what we have learned across the subregion, learn from each other and plan for joint scaling up. It is of the utmost importance that Governments are on board as well, especially in countries where legal or religious barriers impede an open approach towards HIV prevention among MSM/TG."

For more information about the meeting, pls contact Dede Oetomo (doetomo@gmail.com) at GAYa NUSANTARA or Rapeepun Jommaroeng at UNESCO Bangkok (j.rapeepun@unescobkk.org).

Direct link: http://gaya-nusantara.blogspot.com/2009/04/subregional-meeting-on-male-to-male.html