New study from Brown University finds gay, bi men, and trans women in relationships with other men forgo condoms to "preserve intimacy." Taking a swipe at PrEP naysayers, study authors note that the findings do not indicate MSM will stop using condoms once they get access to PrEP; rather the study finds the participating MSM were already forgoing condom use. Read More
Cameroon AIDS support groups evicted for supporting LGBTs
Two AIDS support groups, Colibri and Humanity First Cameroon, have been evicted from their respective headquarters due to homophobia, according to the organizations' leaders. Both centers provided human rights advocacy, health counseling, STI treatment, and HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Read More
Grindr promotes PrEP & new app helps HIV+ connect to clinics
Massively popular dating app Grindr is working with PrEP groups to utilize it's social network to best and most effectively get the word out about HIV prevention. Yet the 'Truvada Whore' Stigma Endures Among Doctors and LGBTs. Working with AIDS.org, US-based app Hornet shows users the 10 closest HIV clinics.
Meanwhile gay UK pop sensation Sam Smith urges gay and straight singles to stop using 'hook-up apps' like Tinder and Grindr: ‘No offence to people who go on Tinder but I just feel like it’s ruining romance, I really do,’ he said. ‘We’re losing the art of conversation and being able to go and speak to people and you’re swiping people.’
Ugandan nurse appeals jail sentence over needle contamination
Rosemary Namubiru, a nurse sentenced for injecting a baby with a HIV contaminated needle, has appealed against her jail sentence on grounds that the offence she was charged with does not relate to HIV but to contagious diseases such as Ebola and measles. Read More
Ugandan President Museveni passes HIV Prevention and Control Act of 2014
Museveni has signed a bill into law to criminalize HIV transmission and impose other measures public health activists say will make it even harder to get Uganda’s severe epidemic under control. The law imposes a fine and a ten-year prison sentence for “intentional transmission of HIV” and five years for “attempted transmission of HIV.” The legislation also allows for compulsory testing in some cases, such as when a woman is pregnant, and would enable courts to order the release of individuals’ HIV status without consent.
Civil society organizations reacted harshly to Uganda‟s controversial HIV Bill. This law has been publicly criticized by officials leading the HIV response in Uganda, such as the AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health and the Uganda AIDS Commission, entities that repeatedly told media that this Act would take Uganda,s AIDS response in "the wrong direction." Lilian Mworeko of ICW East Africa: “How can we achieve the AIDS Free Generation that government has committed to when Uganda adopts such a law?” Read More
Participate in the 2014 Global Men's Health and Rights Survey
By sharing your personal experiences, you join thousands of gay men and other men who have sex with men around the world working to promote health and human rights in our communities. The survey focuses on different factors that impact the quality of our lives, including community involvement, sexual happiness, experiences of stigma, knowledge about new HIV & STI prevention strategies, access to services, and how we feel about ourselves. Read More & take the survey now
Truvada: It's Time To Take the Fucking Pill
This month, Tim Murphy wrote in New York magazine, "This summer—on social media, on Fire Island, at the Christopher Street pier, and in certain cohorts around the country—what many gay men are talking about among themselves is Truvada [the once-a-day pill to help keep people from contracting H.I.V.]." Rich Juzwiak reconsiders the drug. Read More
What is Gay Sex Now?
Editor Saeed Jones joins journalists Steven Thrasher and Dave Tuller to discuss sex, gay men, and what we are (and aren’t) doing. “Marriage and wedding registries are much easier to talk about than fucking.” A conversation on gay sex, health, and drugs. Read more
With Nigeria’s anti-gay law, HIV care drops 10%-70%
The extent of the devastation that Nigeria’s anti-gay law is wreaking on Nigerian anti-AIDS efforts is coming into view.
Among Nigerian men who have sex with men, the number of people reached for HIV prevention has dropped drastically since the signing of the anti-gay “Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill” in January. According to a survey of five anti-AIDS organizations in five Nigerian states, HIV prevention contacts (using UNAIDS’s Comprehensive Minimum Prevention Package Intervention) are:
Down 40 percent in Lagos state
Down 30 percent in Rivers state.
Down 10 percent in Cross River state.
Down 30 percent in Abuja (Federal Capital Territory).
Down 70 percent in Kano state.
Uganda HIV nurse continues to languish in Kampala jail
Melbourne brought an update from Rosemary Namubiru, the HIV+ nurse charged with criminally negligent behavior for using an intravenous needle, that she had accidentally pricked her finger with, on a child. The child was not infected and HIV/Aids activists condemned the trial. Read More
Scottish dentist sacked for failing to reveal HIV positive status
Health chiefs said the dentist had to be suspended over "dishonest conduct" when he failed to disclose his HIV status and caused an infection scare. More than 10,000 patients who visited the surgery were tested after they were told there was a "very slight" risk they had been exposed to the virus. The ban preventing HIV positive NHS staff from performing certain medical procedures was scrapped in England, Wales and Scotland last year. Healthcare workers with HIV face no restrictions but must be on a register and monitored every three months by doctors to ensure they are on the correct treatment and that their viral load is undetectable. Read More
UNAIDS launches the Gap Report
In the first report of its kind, the UNAIDS Gap report emphasizes the importance of location and population through an in-depth regional analysis of HIV epidemics and through analysis of 12 populations at higher risk of HIV. It analyses the reasons for the widening gap between people gaining access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, and people being left behind. It shows how focusing on populations that are underserved and at higher risk of HIV will be key to ending the AIDS epidemic. Read More