Philippines: No longer dodging the AIDS crisis

HIV infection rates are raising fears that the Philippines will be faced with a public health crisis that it has long escaped. Since the Philippines reported its first case of HIV in 1984, the island nation has had one of the lowest rates of infection in the world; less than 1% of its 100 million population has been infected with the virus that causes AIDS. But that may be changing.

Globally, new HIV infections have fallen dramatically in recent years, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations’ program to combat the disease. But in the Philippines, more than 20,000 new HIV infections were reported from 2010 to 2015 — more than four times as many as had been recorded in the 26 years before that.

Along with India and Pakistan, the Philippines is seeing new infections and AIDS-related deaths sharply rise among men who have sex with men and among transgender women, sex workers and people who inject drugs.  

 Read more via LA Times

 

Strengthening human rights for gay men and other men who have sex with men

The first meeting of a new advisory body, the Global Platform to Fast-Track HIV Responses among Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (Global Platform), was convened by UNAIDS and the Men Who Have Sex with Men Global Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. Through the Global Platform, members will provide strategic advice to United Nations agencies and other stakeholders on HIV programme needs and priorities for gay men and other men who have sex with men.

“To date, we have shamefully failed gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men in the global response to HIV. Establishing the first ever advisory body to the United Nations agencies and donor community devoted to this issue is an important first step in correcting the situation,” said George Ayala, Executive Director of the Men Who Have Sex with Men Global Forum. 

New infections among gay men and other men who have sex with men are increasing in all regions of the world, while access to treatment remains low in many countries. National HIV prevention and treatment programmes often fail to target gay men and other men who have sex with men. Punitive laws and policies, violence and human rights violations all fuel vulnerability to HIV.   Read more via UNAIDS

UK: Cuts to sexual health services will lead to STI 'explosion', warn experts

Cuts to sexual health services will lead to more abortions, unplanned pregnancies and an “explosion” in sexually transmitted infections, medical experts warn. Their warning comes as Labour claims that local councils in England will spend as much as £40m less than planned this year on services such as testing and treating infections such as herpes and syphilis as a result of George Osborne’s decision to cut £200m from the public health budget.

Doctors have criticised the chancellor’s move as short-sighted and bound to increase demand for NHS care at a time when dating apps and “chemsex” are thought to be behind rising STI rates.

Some councils have already started to reduce their budget for testing people suspected to have contracted an infection such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea by as much as 36% as a result.

Diagnoses of gonorrhoea in England have gone from 16,843 in 2010 to 34,958 in 2014 – a rise of 107% – while those for syphilis are up by 63% from 2,647 to 4,317 over the same period. Those for anogenital herpes are also up, though by a much smaller amount – 7% – from 29,698 in 2010 to 31,777 in 2014, answers to parliamentary questions tabled by Labour show. Read more via the Guardian

Asia-Pacific’s alarming AIDS rise

There are now 220,000 adolescents living with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region, with large cities the hubs of new infections. Risky behaviour is on the rise, and policymakers need to address the problem, Wing-Sie Cheng Regional Adviser, HIV and AIDS with UNICEF, covering East Asia and the Pacific writes.

At a time when we are tantalisingly close to ending the global HIV and AIDS epidemic, a new trend gives cause for concern. Although new AIDS-related deaths are falling in most countries, they are rising among certain groups of adolescents in Asia-Pacific. The rise in new infections coincides with an increase in risky behaviour, such as multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use.

These trends are not limited to Asia-Pacific. In parts of Africa, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among adolescents. In Asia-Pacific, the epidemic is growing fastest among young gay and bisexual men, and the rise of mobile dating or hook-up apps play a role as enablers of risky behaviour. Gay men are now using mobile dating apps to meet up for sex and are having more casual sex with more people with the convenience of geographic tracing of the nearest sexual interest.  Read more via Policy Forum

Chile: Ministry of Health to stop “normalising” interventions on intersex children

The Chilean Ministry of Health has issued instructions to its national health sector to stop “normalising” medical interventions on intersex infants and children. This guidance is a global first: the first time that a health ministry has shown leadership in taking this step without legislation or legal action. They have done this while awaiting the development of human rights-affirming treatment protocols and legislation to offer protection from discrimination on grounds of “sexual characteristics”.

The report entitled “Instructions on aspects of health care to intersex children“ instructs the ceasing of “unnecessary “normalization” treatment of intersex children, including irreversible genital surgeries, until they are old enough to decide about their bodies“, while work takes place to develop protocols that meet human rights standards. Read more via OII

Thailand: Tangerine Community Health Centre for trans-specific healthcare

In a historic movement for transgender rights in Thailand, the Thai Red Cross Aids Research Centre, with USAid and partners, has unveiled the Tangerine Community Health Centre -- the first clinic in Thailand to provide trans-specific healthcare and counselling services.

Transgender people have been fixtures in the tourism and entertainment industries. However, stigma and discrimination have prevented them from accessing many public services. Healthcare is one of the most crucial areas they are vulnerable. 

"To be honest, we don't really need a school or a hospital especially set aside for trans. If we keep on separating, how can we coexist peacefully in society?" said Jetsada. "However, with Tangerine, I don't view it as a separation. We need Tangerine, right now, as there's not enough knowledge body within our existing healthcare system. We hope, in the future, states will adapt and apply the Tangerine model to public hospitals." Read more via Bangkok Post 

Netherlands: Test-and-treat could slash new HIV infections among gay men

Testing men who have sex with men for HIV and immediately treating those who are HIV positive could greatly reduce new infections among the MSM population as a whole, at least in the Netherlands. Publishing their findings in Science Translational Medicine, researchers analyzed medical records data as well as genetic information about the virus in 617 recently diagnosed Dutch MSM, in order to make estimates about the likely source of their infections.

An estimated 71% of the new HIV cases transmitted from undiagnosed men, 22% from men who were diagnosed but not on treatment, 6% from men who had started treatment, and 1% of diagnosed men who had not been linked to medical care within 18 months. About 43% of the transmissions derived from men infected for less than a year.

The researchers estimated that 19% of the new HIV cases could have been averted if MSM tested annually for HIV and if those who tested positive were immediately provided treatment. Two-thirds of cases could have been averted if all men testing positive received ARVs and if Truvada as PrEP was provided to half of all men testing negative. The researchers concluded that their findings support making PrEP available worldwide. Read more via Science Magazine

New study says PrEP is just as safe as aspirin

A study published in the Oxford Journal’s Open Forum Infectious Diseases states that pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs are just as safe as the painkiller aspirin. While the effectiveness of PrEP for the prevention of HIV had been proven, doubts remained over possible side effects of the drug, including nausea and unintentional weight loss.

The study compared the effects to patients in 5 major research trials. According to the study: “PrEP for HIV infection favourably compares to aspirin in terms of user safety. While long-term studies are needed, providers should feel reassured about the safety of short- and medium-term PrEP for HIV infection with FTC-TDF.”   Read more via GayTimes 

US: Atlanta’s alarming HIV/AIDS epidemic reminiscent of New York in the ’80s

Georgia ranks second among U.S. states in the rate of new HIV diagnoses, behind Louisiana, and Atlanta ranks fifth among metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.

The issue is particularly acute for young gay and bisexual black men. Grady Memorial, one of the nation’s largest public health hospitals, also found alarming numbers, through a grant-funded project that allowed its staff to offer opt-out HIV screening to all patients entering its emergency room: About half the patients diagnosed with HIV already had clinical AIDS. This means they had the virus for years and not received the sort of treatment that would prevent further deterioration of their immune systems.

“None of my colleagues [nationally] are seeing those numbers,” said Dr. Wendy Armstrong, a researcher at Emory University’s Center for AIDS Research. “It’s appalling.”

Despite the rise, the area is finding new new public- and private-sector efforts to bring the area in step with other large cities nationwide that have kept the virus and disease in check.   Read more via Aljazeera

First findings from 2014 global men’s health and rights survey

MSMGF has partnered with LINKAGES and FHI360 to publish, Rights in Action: Access to HIV Services among Men Who Have Sex with Men, the first of a series of technical briefs highlighting the main findings from MSMGF’s 2014 Global Men’s Health and Rights (GMHR) Survey.  Each brief will focus on specific challenges and opportunities that impact efforts to scale up coverage and quality of services for men who have sex with men (MSM) across diverse regional contexts.

The GMHR was launched by MSMGF in 2010 as a biennial effort to assess the current state of health and human rights among MSM on a global scale. The multilingual online survey focuses specifically on access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care services, including the impact of barriers and facilitators that affect access to each category of service. The survey is designed to place access to services in the broader context of sexual health and the lived experiences of MSM.

For the first time since the GMHR’s inauguration, the 2014 survey includes a longitudinal component that allows for changes to be tracked over time. The 2014 survey also includes questions specifically designed for transgender men who have sex with men, providing a rare global perspective into the health and human rights of this demographic. Read more via MSMGF 

Australia: Here’s what it’s like to go through gay conversion therapy

“Please take this from me, I don’t want to be gay.” Brisbane man Johann De Joodt knows first hand the horrors of gay conversion therapy. A participant in numerous programs designed to purge his homosexuality during his twenties and thirties, De Joodt adopted a traumatising routine of church, sin and repentance that looped on repeat every week for 15 years.

The question of whether conversion therapy works was answered long ago: it doesn’t. Leading psychological associations in Australia and around the world have denounced therapy that attempts to change sexual orientation. Earlier this year, a report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for nations to ban the practice, describing it as “unethical, unscientific and ineffective and, and may be tantamount to torture”.

Partly as a result of these strident denouncements, the prevalence of such therapy has significantly declined in Australia. Around 40 providers across the country in 2000 have dwindled to just a handful still in action today. 

Johann De Joodt bristles at the description of gay conversion therapy as “nearly dead”. “Conversion therapy hasn’t ended in Australia,” he says. “It is alive and well.”  Read more via Buzzfeed 

New study of midlife and older gay men links "internalized gay ageism" with depressive symptoms

"Internalized gay ageism," or the sense that one may feel denigrated or depreciated because of aging in the context of a gay male identity, is associated with negative mental outcomes according to a new study published in Social Science & Medicine.

Prior research has shown that youth, vigor, and physical attractiveness are disproportionately valued in the gay male community, leaving many to experience a sense of "accelerated aging." This study explores how ageism and homophobia are jointly internalized by gay men, whether these feelings affect their mental health, and whether a sense of "mattering" (the degree to which they feel they are important to others and a significant part of the world around them) offsets any mental health deficits associated with internalized gay ageism.

The study is based on data collected from 312 gay-identified men who have been participating in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study since 1984. The men ranged in age from 48 to 78 years (average age: 61yrs) and 61% were HIV-negative. Three decades of depressive symptoms data were included in the analysis to help strengthen the direction of the observed findings.  Read more via Williams Institute