TORONTO: Responding to the fact that globally only one in 10 men who have sex with men (MSM) have access to basic HIV/AIDS prevention services, a group of activists here on Tuesday announced the launch of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV.

The forum will coordinate a global response to the enormous gaps in funding and services that currently exist for MSM living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS. "The impact of HIV/AIDS on MSM continues to be overlooked or simply ignored by most governments and donors around the world, resulting in poor to non-existent prevention and care. There is an urgent need for international action," said Shivananda Khan, member of the forum and executive director of NAZ Foundation International.

Lack of funding and political will has limited the number of studies on MSM and HIV/AIDS in many regions of the world. However, a recent report published by TREAT Asia, an initiative of the NAZ Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), indicates that HIV prevalence rates among MSM exceed 25 per cent in some parts of Asia. The report, titled `MSM and HIV/AIDS Risk in Asia: What is fuelling the epidemic among MSM and how can it be stopped,' points out that infection rates among MSM were as high as 14 per cent in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and 28 per cent in Bangkok, Thailand. In India, the rates are 16 per cent in the State of Andhra Pradesh and 20 per cent in the cities of Mumbai and Chennai.

Many Asian MSM are married, compartmentalise their male-male sexual behaviour, and are rarely tested for HIV. In nearly half of the countries surveyed, male-male sex is illegal making it difficult to reach these populations.

"Stigma, misinformation, and government discrimination are driving a resurgence in HIV infection among men who have sex with men in Asia," Kevin Frost, amfAR vice-president, told reporters. He said the current HIV prevention efforts do far too little to address the root causes of the epidemic among MSM — a diverse group that includes gays, bisexuals, transgendered people, and others, who, often for cultural reasons, do not identify as gay.

Given the difficulty of surveillance in these populations, rates of HIV infection could actually be far worse. If donors and governments do not move quickly, Asia could face a spiralling epidemic that could be far worse than any seen in gay communities in the West, Mr. Frost warned. "The time has come to educate, deploy political capital, and deliver the financial resources needed ... ," he said.''

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