Amongthe trends discussed at the recent in Mexico City was the alarming prevalence of HIVinfections among men who have sex with men. MSM, as it's known, is a descriptionof a behavior and not a homosexual lifestyle. In low and middle-incomecountries, HIV infections among men who have sex with men are many timesgreater than the rate in the general population.As we learn in this report activists want funding prioritiesredirected and are calling for a reversal of the widespread homophobic policiesfueling the epidemic.
Fivethousand people took to the streets in Mexico City in early August for thefirst .Led by , theycarried banners and handmade signs, and waved multi-colored flags. TheirT-shirts had slogans denouncing repression of people with HIV.
Underthe shade of an orange parasol is an outspoken man from India.With curly brown hair and a long green skirt,he lives his life as a woman.He sayshe's joined drag queens, sex workers and activists from hundreds of non-profitgroups to advocate for the right to health care for people marginalized bysociety. "I am over here to contribute to this historic march [in]solidarity for this cause."
Thirty-threemillion people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS. The number of new infectionsis growing by 2.5 million a year.
Thosestatistics are not lost on Moises Lopez-Calderon, 39, a long-time AIDS activistin Mexico City.Lopez-Calderon is thedirector of a whose focus is on HIV education, especially among MSM.
Onthis afternoon, he is in the Zona Rosa, the center of the gay community inMexico City, to survey passersby about a new trend of risky MSM behavior.He stops outside a bar to question a youngman dressed jeans and a checkered shirt. Lopez-Calderon will compile theanswers from many such interviews into a pamphlet for young men, a populationat high risk for HIV infection.
Hesays he can get accurate information back to youth on the street faster thanany government run program.He saysthat's because by the time a new administration recognizes a problem and beginsto address it, the elected officials are already out of office. "There isno continuity, and that is what non-governmental organizations like ours canprovide," he says.
Lopez-Calderonhopes that raising awareness about HIV/AIDS will help reduce the prevalence ofHIV among MSM. In Mexico, men who have sex with men make up one quarter of theinfected population.
It'sthis kind of data that helped ,the Foundation for AIDS Research, put together a new report on global MSMtrends. The 128-nation finds that MSM is a large and growing portion of the AIDS epidemic in everyregion of the world, and the least served.
Atthe International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, amfAR CEO Kevin Frostexplained that the problem is rooted in long-standing homophobic policies."Eighty-six countries criminalize sex between men. More than ten of thosecountries have laws which punish sex between men with more than ten years inprison and seven make it punishable by death."
Frostsays that kind of institutionalized homophobia makes it difficult to reach theMSM population with prevention, treatment and care.
Armedwith a systematic review of all published MSM data, epidemiologist and reportco-author says the document presents a convincing case for large donorslike the , the [PEFAR] and the Global Fund for AIDS, toredirect their efforts toward helping these men. "And if they are notincluded in country proposals for money to go back to the countries and say,'Why are you excluding men who have sex with men?'"
Beyrersays failure to provide health care, prevention and treatment for the MSM populationamounts to nothing less than a denial of the basic human right to health careand ultimately to life itself.