attention to their needs in broader HIV responses

It is clear that there is an urgent need not just for more programming, but also for new and
better approaches to programming. Based on local epidemiological and social realities, enhanced
responses must combine efforts focused specifically on men who have sex with men and
transgender people, attention to their needs in broader HIV responses, and bridge-building with
broader efforts to achieve gender equality, promote human rights and protect public health.
Countries must be rigorous in monitoring the evolution of their HIV epidemics, risk behaviours
and networks—recalibrating their responses as needed.
As the key global standard-setter, the UN must lead, rather than follow, in its response. UNAIDS12
action on HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender people is an इन्ते
component of the broader effort to achieve universal access by 2010 and the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015. These commitments, in turn, are built upon the values of universal
human rights, which make clear that all people, including men who have sex with men and
transgender people, have the right to the highest attainable standard of health, non-discrimination
and equality before the law, and freedom of expression and association, among others13.
Independently of human rights, there is a clear and strong public health rationale for effective
prevention among men who have sex with men and transgender people. If we want to prevent
HIV infections, it is essential that more effective prevention efforts (which are inextricably linked
with treatment and care) among groups with higher prevalences be undertaken.
To these ends, this framework provides direction for enhanced action by the UNAIDS Secretariat
and UNAIDS Cosponsors on male-to-male sex, transgender issues and HIV. Using this framework
as a reference, a UN interagency working group on men who have sex with men, transgender
and HIV issues will develop more detailed operational workplans and recommendations for more
effective, coordinated action on a biannual basis.