Minister of Health to open MSM Symposium
Health4Men - 19 May 2011
Prioritising the sexual health of men who have sex with men
MEDIA ADVISORY:From 23 to 25 May academics, researchers, policy makers, healthcare practitioners and members of government will gather in Cape Town to discuss HIV prevention, treatment and care for men who have sex with men (MSM).
Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, is scheduled to deliver the opening address at the symposium.
Aptly titled Top2Btm: Prevention, treatment and care, the event forms part of the AIDS Priorities series, which is coordinated by the Anova Health Institute and funded by PEPFAR.
Anova also runs the Health4Men project, an initiative that in conjunction with the Western Cape Department of Health established Africa’s first public sector clinic dedicated to the sexual health of men who have sex with men. Health4Men have subsequently opened a clinic in Soweto and are also active in Mafikeng and Pretoria.
A recent survey conducted by Health4Men and the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge indicated that over one third (33.5%) of MSM in township areas adjacent to Cape Town are HIV positive.
Overall, men who have sex with men are considered more at risk of HIV. Prejudice by health care providers and the stigma surrounding HIV and homosexuality act as serious barriers for MSM (and gay-identifying men in particular) to seeking out sexual health care.
Prof James McIntyre, Executive Director of Anova commented: "These men are outside the reach of most HIV prevention and treatment efforts, which has serious implications for addressing South Africa’s HIV epidemic on the whole".
The upcoming Top2Btm symposium highlights the sexual health needs of MSM as a priority in South Africa’s response to HIV and features plenary sessions and presentations, workshops, satellite sessions and poster presentations on the issue.
Amongst the speakers at the symposium are Dr. Stefan Baral (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Dr. Anita Radix (Director of Research and Education at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York), Prof. David Lewis (National Institute for Infectious Diseases), Dr. Rob Stephenson (Emory University), Prof. Linda-Gail Bekker (Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation) and Prof. James McIntyre (Anova Health Institute and School of Public Health at the University of Cape Town ).
Particular areas of discussion will include the use of technology in reaching men who have sex with men, male sex workers and HIV, encouraging prevention amongst HIV positive men, mental health and the use of recreational drugs, HIV and transgender people, training public healthcare workers to provide services to MSM, anal cancer, hepatitis and couples-based HIV testing.
The Top2Btm: Prevention, Care and Treatment for MSM Symposium is hosted at The Vineyard Hotel and Conference Center in Cape Town. It commences late afternoon on 23 May and ends the afternoon of 25 May 2011.
For a detailed programme and speakers’ bios, go to www.anovahealth.co.za/events
For more information on attending the conference, phone (011) 715 5804 or send an email to: priorities2011@anovahealth.co.za.