Walt Senterfitt's blog

Nearly every speaker at last night's opening ceremony condemned homophobia, discrimination against sex workers and IDUs and stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Speakers repeatedly hammered the point that we cannot break out of stalled prevention efforts and move to end the epidemic without attacking these root causes (along with oppression of women). It was no surprise to hear this from Peter Piot of UNAIDS and the President of the International AIDS Society, but from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the first vice-president of Spain and Mexican President Felipe Calderon ????? A Mexican journalist watching with me was muttering about Calderon's hypocrisy and cynicism, saying "that's the first time in his life he has ever spoken the word homophobia out loud!" And a head of state and of the UN saying that the rights of sex workers and drug injectors must be defended and that these persons must be cared for and respected as full members of society???  read more »

Peter Piot, the tireless outgoing founding director of UNAIDS, put it bluntly in an address to the pre-conference MSM Global Forum on August 1:

"Homophobia - in all its forms - is one of the top five barriers to ending this epidemic, worldwide. The fight against the epidemic is entering a new phase, and if governments and NGOs and international organizations like my own do not take up the fight for gay rights, and the rights of all people with diverse sexuality, we will not end AIDS."

He went on to say that in nearly every country (including the USA) the resources devoted to prevention, research and care among MSM are vastly smaller than their numerical weight in the epidemic would compel as a matter of fairness and effectiveness.

Earlier presentations at the MSM forum had reviewed in detail what we know, and what we don't know, about the epidemic among MSM in various countries and about how the disproporionate impact on MSM everywhere is a general drive of the epidemic.

In Latin America, MSM are the major affected population throughout, and in much of the Caribbean as well. In Asia, MSM are a significant part iof the epidemic in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China.

In most Asian countries, MSM are the third part of the "triumvirate of concentrated epidemics," including commercial sex workers and injection drug users (and, of course, some MSM belong to all three groups).  read more »