Priority HIV and Sexual Health Interventions in the Health Sector for MSM and Transgender in Asia-Pacific Region

The Regional Consensus Meeting on Developing a Comprehensive Package of Services to Reduce HIV among Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender Populations in Asia and the Pacific held in Bangkok from 29 June to 1 July 2009 recognized that the significant and increasing burden of HIV infections documented among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons (TG) in many countries of the region constitutes an urgent health and development crisis.This Consensus Statement describes the key components of a multisectoral, comprehensive package of interventions and sexual health services that will provide a continuum of prevention, care, treatment and support services to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV among the broad range of MSM and TG in Asia and the Pacific.

The Consensus Statement describes the key components of a multisectoral, comprehensive package of interventions and sexual health services that will provide a continuum of prevention, care, treatment and support services to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV among the broad range of MSM and TG in Asia and the Pacific.

It is therefore recommended that comprehensive national responses incorporate effective, scaled-up prevention activities for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), along with care, treatment and support services, all guided by strategic information. The meeting further recognized that enabling environments, strategic partnerships and collaborations that include governments, communities and development partners are essential for the design, costing and implementation of comprehensive responses.

“Priority HIV and Sexual Health Interventions in the Health Sector for MSM and Transgender People in the Asia-Pacific Region” is the extended effort following up the Meeting. The purpose of this document is:

1. to describe the priority health sector interventions needed to achieve universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by men who have sex with men (MSM);
2. to summarize key policy and technical recommendations developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for each of the priority health sector interventions;
3. to guide the selection and prioritization of interventions for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for MSM; and
4. to direct readers to key resources of WHO and other organizations, which contain the best available information on the health sector response to HIV and AIDS for MSM.