MSM and transgender people are absent from the Global Fund country dialogue in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Tallinn, Estonia. 25 March 2015.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people (TG) are not involved in strategic discussions around HIV in most nations of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Lack of reliable epidemiological data, high stigma, and policies that restrict the access of MSM and TG to information on HIV, – these factors preclude the two key populations from meaningfully participating in the country dialogue processes, contributing to HIV/AIDS program planning, and otherwise cooperating with the Global Fund.

These are the conclusions of a new report, “The Global Fund New Funding Model and Country Dialogue: Involvement of the MSM and Transgender People in EECA”, produced by the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM) with the support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF). Monitors from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Ukraine provided valuable information about their respective Country Coordinating Mechanisms and national HIV/AIDS programs. In the five countries included in the report, only three individuals directly represented the MSM and TG communities in the CCMs in 2014. As a result, despite the growing HIV epidemic among these groups, HIV prevention efforts among MSM are underfunded, while TG people are completely excluded from HIV/AIDS plans and strategies.

The report underscores that the involvement of all affected stakeholders is a key component of the Global Fund New Funding Model. “The absence of key populations of MSM and transgender people in the country dialogue challenges the legitimacy of these processes in our region,” says Vitaly Djuma, ECOM’s Executive Director.

The report includes a number of recommendations for national governments and organizations representing MSM and transgender people to ensure that those have greater access to and involvement in the country dialogue processes and HIV/AIDS program planning.

The entire report is available here: ECOM Country Dialogue Report V2